IBM's Anne Altman Is All Set To Depart

Sam Gordy will replace Ms. Anne Altman

Anne Altman has made up her mind to retire from her present designation with International Business Machines Corp. Ms. Anne has spent almost three decades with IBM where she was closely working with the federal government.

A press release was observed recently where the tech giant announced that Ms. Altman who is presently designated as the General Manager for the federal business at IBM will retire on January, 31, 2016.

“During her tenure, [Altman] devoted her leadership and passion to drive IBM solutions that have enabled our U.S. federal agency customers in so many ways, helping transform them in the process,” mentioned the release. “We wish her the best in her retirement.”

Individuals like her are an asset to any company since she devoted half of her life serving the company and taking it to newer heights. The company observed several milestones under her able leadership and has always contributed positively towards the growth of the company.  Analysts report that Ms. Altman’s enthusiasm and devotion will be missed by her inmates at the company.

The company has already found a replacement for Ms. Altman where Sam Gordy will take over her present position. Mr. Sam Gordy also has a glistening portfoliuo where he has served as the Group President of Integrated Systems and Senior Vice President at Leidos Inc. and Reston respectively.

While Ms. Altman was rendering her services to IBM, the server hardware business of the company was led by her. She was assisting in integrating the firm’s mainframe namely the “System z” in the ecosystem of federal government. Ms. Altman has the honor of being part and parcel of the Top 50 Women in the Tech World as per Fedscoop. Moreover, she has also receive several awards for her outstanding service.

Altman has also rendered her services as the Vice Chairperson for the Northern Virginia Technology Council along with being the executive committee member of the Professional Services Council.

According to Fedscoop, “Gordy has nearly 30 years of experience in the intelligence community as both an active duty naval intelligence officer and as a contractor. Before Leidos was spun off from Science Applications International Corporation, he ran three of the SAIC’s highest growth markets: cyber command and control, intelligence systems, and logistics.”

Sources suggest that Gordy who is a well known former intelligence officer was appointed to conduct operations in Iraq, Libya, Panama, and Soviet Union.

Mr. Sam Gordy will render his services to IBM from January 18, 2016.

International Business Machines Watson Reports About Thanksgiving Sales

IBM talks about the changes observed in Thanksgiving sales pattern.

The holiday season is that time of the years that succeeds in drawing a lot of attention due to the steep discounts and lucrative deals that the retailers come up with particularly on Black Friday and Thanksgiving. According to International Business Machine Corp.’s data analytics platform Watson, it has been deduced that the online sales this annum have gone up by 26% during the Thanksgiving period in comparison to the same time the previous year. Almost 60% of the online shopping done this year is observed through online shopping via smartphones which itself is a significant change.

It has been deduced by the company that on an average consumers spent around $123.45 for each order. This clearly indicates that the online sales governed during Black Friday will surge by 14.5% on a year over year (YOY) basis. According to Watson, it was deduced that there were certain products that were actually consumer favorites. This encompasses the televisions by LG, Surface Pro 4 by Microsoft Corp., and Apple Watches by Apple Inc.

Considering the skyrocketing thanksgiving sales, it will not be wrong to assume that the Black Fridays were a bigger success this year. Mr. Erinn Murphy, the analyst at piper Jaffray was shedding lights on the preliminary data that was observed regarding the Thanksgiving sales. Consumer items and electronics were said to be the best sellers this season since the demand for these products was extremely high. It was also deduced by ChannelAdvisor that the shopping done on Thanksgiving was extremely aggressive this annum.

IBM Watson also came up with the list of the top retailers during the Thanksgiving sales and the company that observed an increase in sales by 31.2% in comparison to the previous years was Amazon.com Inc. as reported by ChannelAdvisor.

During this point of time it can be easily said that the trend of shopping online due to the convenience and efficiency these platforms offer have increased significantly. People prefer to sit back at home and shop rather than paving their way to a brick and mortar store to shop conventionally. This has ignited a lot of concerns since the population at stores is going down significantly. Many retailers that just have brick and mortar stores are extremely concerned about their business where most consumers are trying their best to pave their way online some way or the other. IBM is playing a significant role in acknowledging analysts, investors and consumers regarding the changing market trends.