IBM CEO Address

IBM

    国际商业机器公司，或万国商业机器公司，简称IBM（International Business Machines Corporation），。总公司在纽约州阿蒙克市公司，1911年创立于美国，是全球最大的信息技术和业务解决方案公司，目前拥有全球雇员 30多万人，业务遍及 160多个国家和地区。IBM 2008全年:营业收入为1036亿美元,税前利润167亿美元,每股收益为8.93美元该公司创立时的主要业务为商用打字机，及后转为文字处理机，然后到计算机和有关的服务。
　　在过去的九十多年里，世界经济不断发展，现代科学日新月异， IBM 始终以超前的技术、出色的管理和独树一帜的产品领导着全球信息工业的发展，保证了世界范围内几乎所有行业用户对信息处理的全方位需求。众所周知，早在 1969年，阿波罗宇宙飞船载着三名宇航员，肩负着人类的使命，首次登上了月球；1981年哥伦比亚号航天飞机又成功地飞上了太空。这两次历史性的太空飞行都凝聚着 IBM 无与伦比的智慧。

IBM创始人为老托马斯·沃森,后来公司在他的儿子小托马斯·沃森的率领下开创了计算机时代。
　　IBM现任CEO为Samuel Palmisano,音译萨缪尔·帕米沙诺, 他的中文名叫彭明盛。
　　IBM中国, 也即 IBM(国际商业机器有限公司)大中华区现任董事长是周伟焜（Henry Chow）, 2007年初由钱大群担任CEO。
　　IBM德国, 现任董事长是Mar weirrer Tch, 2003年担任美国总部总经理。

彭明盛

英文名: Samuel Palmisano 1972年，彭明盛从约翰-霍普金斯大学毕业后就进入了IBM，他从销售做起，随后在IBM日本、IT服务、PC事业部和大型机部门都有过经验。担任郭士纳的前任约翰-阿克尔斯执行助理时，他被后者称为“最优秀的助理”。
　　1994年，经历了21年的IBM历练，彭明盛去到了IBM的外包业务子公司ISSC(集成系统解决方案公司)。在彭明盛去往ICCS之前，他已经在IBM内部拥有了挑战高层、尝试新方法并实现业绩的声誉。
　　在1980年代末期，包括柯达在内的一些大客户向IBM提出了更高的要求：他们不仅希望IBM能够向其销售大型机和PC，还希望由IBM帮他们管理整个IT系统。IBM及时意识到了这是一块市场，这就是ISSC的诞生。虽然能够维持惨淡经营，但其下属的咨询和系统继承业务则在此前一年亏损数千万。

China is very special to me. I've had the privilege of visiting your country many, many times over the past 20 years. And I believe you know how proud we are of our business here, and the IBM China team lead by my colleague, Henry Chow.

We employ about 2,000 people in IBM China. We've established 7 joint ventures with an additional 3,000 employees in areas including application software, software development, and manufacturing. We enjoy relationships with hundreds of local Chinese business partners, and we continue to invest very heavily in China. Our storage business is among IBM's most strategic and fastest-growing, and China is home to developments and manufacturing facilities that feed our assembly plants all over the world.

We've spent about $200 million in the last two years in these facilities, including a joint venture in Shenzhen Storage Products Co. In April, we opened the IBM China Mega-Call-Center to provide technical support for a full range of our products and services. It's the most advanced such call center in all of Asia. And the IBM China University Program -- a collaboration with China's State Education commission -- has donated about $70 million in IBM equipment, training, and services to information technology training centers at more than 20 Chinese universities.

Last fall, I was personally honored to host President Jiang during his trip to the United States. And at his request, we demonstrated some of IBM's latest technologies, including one we are extremely proud of: a speech recognition program for Mandarin -- a fantastic product developed right here in our advanced research laboratory in Beijing.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of meeting with President Jiang once again. We shared a lot of positive ideas of how we can strengthen IBM's relationship with China and serve China's interest in the reformation of Chinese state-owned enterprises.
 
IBM has enjoyed a relationship with China that has endured for more than half a century. But I do not believe there has ever been a more exciting time to be doing business here, as vast new opportunity is created by your sweeping modernization and ambitious, government-led reform programs for thousands of state-owned enterprises.

This transformation, I believe, will underscore the critical importance of information technology as a driver of competitive success and real economic growth for China.

So today, I want to talk to you about what I believe has to be the agenda of a leader of an enterprise -- business, government agency, university, hospital, bank anywhere in the world -- the agenda regarding this technology. I will do that from the perspective that I brought to IBM.

Some of you know that before I came to IBM, my background was a lot like yours. I was a customer of IBM. I was a customer of the computer industry. I arrived at IBM with a firmly held conviction that this technology is one of those transformational technologies that comes along every hundred years or so and changes everything in our society. I wasn't alone in this opinion, but at that time, it wasn't so easy to find a lot of examples of entire industries being changed by the application of information technology.

Today, in almost every industry in almost every part of the world there are many examples of enterprises applying this technology to seize competitive advantage and to create enormous challenges for their competitors. I think we're seeing information technology reach the point that all transformational technologies reach when they are no longer controlled by just a small group of skilled professionals, and they cross over to mass acceptance and ubiquity.

Networking technology is still in its infancy, yet it's reached already the point where we can call it a new mass medium. Consider that in the U.S.:
* Radio took about 30 years to attract 50 million users.
* Television took 13 years.
* Cable television took 10 years.

The Internet did it in half that. Less than 5 years after the birth of the World Wide Web, some 90 million people are online around the world, and that number will be hundreds of millions before too long.

Of course, right now, the U.S. has embraced the Net more fully than other nations, both in terms of individual users, and business use. But, clearly, this is a global medium. Very soon there will be equal numbers of people accessing the Web in English and other languages. Five countries other than the U.S. have around ten percent of their populations using the Web.

Here in China, the number of Internet users has nearly doubled since just last October, to more than 1 million users. And I've seen statistics that say your Internet population will exceed 7 million people by the year 2001.

Some people are talking about a phenomenon they call "Internet Leapfrog", a high-stakes game in which countries and geographies that make the most astute use of networked technologies quickly bypass other regions in production, productivity, and profitable growth.

Today, this contest of Internet Leapfroging is played on a wide-open field. We hear about 90 million connected users... and some equate that with universal connectivity. But consider that if just 4 percent of the populations of your nation and India got connected tomorrow, the worldwide number of Internet users would double.

These numbers are interesting, but the real important question is: "What are all these individuals, and the world's leading institutions, doing on the Net?"

Not too long ago, the prevailing view was that the Net was about looking up information, or that it was a medium for interpersonal communication, a replacement for the telephone or post office.

Today, it's evident that the Net represents a transformation far more profound than online "chat" groups or giving people access to sports scores and weather reports. It has emerged as a powerful means for parties of every type to conduct interactions of every type.

Certainly, it's changing the way things are bought and sold. Electronic commerce is booming. Even the most conservative estimates say that it will be at least a $200 billion marketplace by the turn of the century (which is only 500 days away) -- most of that volume in business to business transactions.

And while 86 percent of Internet commerce was generated inside the U.S. last year, the rest of the world is getting into the game in a serious way. Internet commerce generated outside the U.S. will represent more than 35 percent of the world total by the year 2002. But what's going on isn't just limited to commerce, to buying and selling.

At IBM, we use a slightly more descriptive term. We talk about e-business to describe all of the vital transactions that will be conducted on the Net.

E-business includes transactions among employees inside an enterprise; among trading partners in a supply chain; and of course, the networked transactions that transform the way educators teach students, physicians treat patients, and the way governments deliver services to citizens.

All of these interactions will become digital. They won't necessarily replace the kind of physical transactions we know today, but they will augment them.

For example, Duoyuan Electronics Group is using the Net to strengthen the ties between all the suppliers, wholesalers and retailers in its electronics manufacturing and distribution business. They're in the early stages of development, but they see networking technologies as the key to building production capability to compete with large enterprises.
 
Another example: With the support of China Telecom, IBM is working with Hunan Post and Telecom Administration to develop an online payment system. The first application will give customers the convenience of paying telephone bills over Internet using Bank of China Great Wall credit cards.

In projects with customers around the world, we're learning that when they make the move to e-business, they follow a fairly predictable, three-stage process.

First, putting up information on a Web site. Product catalogs. Academic course listings, a list of phone numbers to call for more information.

The second stage is, enabling some form of interaction, typically for customer service. Allowing a customer to track the status of an overnight package is one example. Yamato Transport in Japan and United Parcel Service in America are among companies doing this. And now United Parcel Service in America is launching an entirely new business, going to the third, and most important stage of electronic commerce.

This third stage is the one that represents the real transformation and the major payoff. It's when the enterprise takes the step to allow real Net-based transactions.

For UPS, they're offering secure, confidential delivery of documents over the Net. The service is as reliable as putting the document in an envelope or package and handing it to a clerk or a route driver. And 20 percent to 50 percent cheaper.

Think about what they're doing. They're essentially competing with their traditional package and delivery services by creating an Internet courier service. But UPS sees a digital future -- one in which 30 percent of all such deliveries could take place online -- and they're going there, fast.

This kind of decision-making is the real revolution in the networked world. It's not just about technology. Because when banks and schools and airlines, hospitals and governments use the Net to allow people to execute transactions, they have to make fundamental changes to the way they currently do things.

And as we all know, institutional change is hard. But more and more institutions are deciding to change because the incentives are powerful. Let me just list a few.

First, networks alter the basic economics of industry. They slash the costs of transactions. Airlines around the world estimate that, on average, it costs about $8 to process a ticket. The same transaction on the Net costs only $1.

Banks estimate that a face-to-face transaction with a teller in a branch office costs a dollar or more. On the Net, that same transaction can be completed for about one cent, one-hundredth of the cost.

Across most of Asia, the time-honored ways of trading stock remain in place. But that's beginning to change. Daishin (Da-shin) Securities in Korea this summer took the plunge into secure online trading over the Net. It's estimated that 5 million people worldwide now use the Net to execute trades in this way.

One strictly online brokerage based in the U.S., E-Trade Securities, has been in business for only six years. They already have more than $10 billion under management, and the only way they deal with their customers is over the Internet. And the leader in the field of electronic stock trading, Charles Schwab, trades more than $2 billion in securities every week on the Net.

Another incentive very important to China:Networks dissolve barriers like time and distance that once limited market opportunities. This means that networks fundamentally alter the nature of competition. The networked world levels the playing field, especially for smaller businesses, in a way that has never been true with prior generations of information technology.

There's a little four-man brewery in a remote Scottish hamlet that's using the Net to take orders from beer lovers all over the world. They're reaching a global market at nominal cost. There's a supermarket chain in Peru that estimates it costs them $4 million to $5 million to open a new physical office. For an investment of about $100,000, they've created a virtual storefront that allows customers to shop online for thousands of items. Revenues are up, and with the Net they can advertise sales and specials without having to print up special materials.

One of my favorite examples is a little company called LeHigh Valley Safety Supply in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the United States. They make industrial workboots that workers wear in factories. The territory that they sell their workboots has always been limited by how far they can drive the truck, because the only way they sold boots was right off the back of a truck that they would drive to the parking lots of industrial sites. IBM put them up on the Web. Now, they are now taking orders from Thailand from workers and offshore oil rigs all over the world. They have became a global company overnight, without creating a new subsidiary, hiring a bunch of lawyers or setting up a new management system.

And all this isn't just about commercial transactions.

At Monterrey Tech in the University of Mexico 70,000 students use the Net to access 2,500 courses. At the MBA program at Athabasca University in Canada, they've gone a step further. There are virtually no students on campus, because there is no campus. All coursework is delivered over networks. The faculty is spread across Canada, the U.K. and the United States. And they have captured 30 percent of the executive MBA market in Canada.

Governments are using the Net to build competitive advantage, to improve services to citizens, and to provide very tangible evidence of efficient use of tax monies. The government of Valencia in southern Spain is wiring entire villages, allowing citizens to do online transactions with local businesses, to schedule a doctor's appointment, to get information from their kids' schools.

Shanghai and all the major Asian port cities are competing to gain an advantage as centers of regional and international commerce. Singapore has just upped the ante in that battle. Singapore is putting 10,000 suppliers online. If you want to do business with Singapore, you're going to have to do it electronically. They're building applications that reduce cost and cut down cycle times -- very important when your competitive advantage is based on the ability to move ships and goods in and out of port.

So governments that in the past have competed for industrial investment or jobs based on traditional incentives like tax structures or access to skilled labor will compete in the future in very large measure on their electronic capability.

The third thing the Net does is that it redefines traditional models of distribution.

Any institution that stands between the creator of a product and the consumer of the product is going to have to rethink its value because the Net is going to make direct connections between those parties possible, especially in cases where the product or service can be reduced to bits and bytes.

So in an age of electronic commerce, financial firms, banks, insurance companies, will have to ask "What does it really mean to be a bank?" which is by definition an intermediary between buyers and sellers, or between people who have money and people who want money. What does it mean to be a university when it's possible to deliver the expertise of faculty to students without regard to the physical limitation of classrooms or a centralized campus?

Next, and closely related to issues of distribution, are the implications around brand management in a networked economy. This one cuts both ways: The Net allows you to extend your brand, and it also creates new threats to your brand identity. Virtually any company with a Web site is positioned to challenge even the most entrenched brands, anywhere in the world.

And there's another dimension to the issue of brand management. This is the issue of online aggregation, a term that describes how certain companies are forming around the world that will pull together disaggregate products and services, and sell them under an electronic marketplace.

There are many examples of this today. In the U.K. many grocery store chains are getting into financial services. In the U.S. you can apply for a mortgage on your house through American Airlines. The airline won't process the mortgage, they'll just take a finders fee from their very best frequent flyer customers.

It is going to be very important as you think about your global reach whether your company and your customers see your brand or an aggregators brand. So utilities, cable TV companies, phone companies, Internet service providers, (and one very large software company) are all trying to position themselves as the aggregator between your customers and you.

This creates major issues. Not technology issues but strategic issues. How do we protect and propagate our brand if that brand can be hidden behind the brand of a software company or an online service provider? If we're going to offer our product or service on these electronic channels, who do we partner with? Who controls the transaction and the customer information?

Big decisions. Because control of the customer information means control of the customer relationship.

I want to wrap up this discussion with a few questions that I encourage all senior executives to start asking. They're the questions we ask ourselves inside of IBM.

First, do we talk about these issues in our company, in our government unit, in our healthcare institution, in our university? Are they part of our important agenda? Do we talk about what our competitors are doing? Do we talk about how we're going to take advantage of this electronic world?

And by the way, you know we can't assume that the competitors you have today will be the ones you have in the future. Because again, the Net alters the whole structure of competition in industry.

A major encyclopedia company in North America watching the rise of the Net created very inexpensive access to the entire world of learning. This encyclopedia chain decided to lay off its entire sales force.

Now we could have a very meaningful and important discussion this topic of job creation, and job elimination. Because in fact all of the great transformational technologies that have hit the world over the hundreds of years, whether it was the electric light, the automobile, the manned flight or new networked technology...they all initially tend to destroy jobs. But then they tend to be a net creator of jobs. And its a transition that all industrial societies must face. The jobs that are created also tend to be higher-paying jobs.

This dynamic comes with huge implications for any nation, its system of education, and its ability to compete for these new jobs in a networked economy. China has hundreds of thousands of children to educate. What role can the Net and distance learning play?

The second question I urge all of you to think about is: At a minimum, are we experimenting? Are we getting our feet wet in a networked world? You don't have to be a pioneer. You don't have to jump in and change your enterprise overnight. It is possible to be a watcher of the leader, and a fast follower.

But this technology is changing so fast that, I believe the most practical strategy will include at least some preliminary investment with e-business. You can't wait for every other institution or nation to move to fully capitalize on this technology.

So that includes getting started with e-business inside your own enterprise. At IBM, we're connecting every employee and increasingly an external network of partners-- over 300,000 people -- through an Intranet site, and a powerful collaborative software called Lotus Notes.

We are also driving to establish leadership in our industry based on our ability to move ideas and insights around and through hierarchical organizations. You may have heard of this described as knowledge management, or knowledge sharing.

I have no doubt that in the 21st century, the most important skill for any institution will be its ability to turn information into insight, and get that insight to the people who need it. We will still compete with the traditional tools of labor and capital. But the biggest winners will be the enterprises that can best capture, use and turn information into wisdom.

The third question we all have to ask: Are our systems ready for the networked world?

When you put your business on the Net, you have opened a new front door of your business or agency or education institution. At any point in time, you might find that there are millions of people at your new front door. So your Web presence has to be able to handle that volume, and it must do it while remaining open seven days a week, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day.

These are all issues we've had to work through at IBM as we've made decisions about our Web business. And the subject of how IBM is transforming itself to become an e-business leads very naturally to the next part of my talk.

My IBM China colleagues have told me that you are interested in some lessons IBM has learned during the last several years of a major financial, competitive and cultural transformation. Most recently of course, our transformation has centered on our own program to embrace e-business. In fact, we've defined and declared a goal to be the world's leading example of what e-business is all about.

So let me conclude with a few comments on the subject of IBM's transformation. I want to say first that I do this with a very deep sense of humility. I am not suggesting in any way that our experiences are applicable to any situation you might be facing. I will outline the major elements of our transformation in the hope that maybe some small part might be instructive to you.

Now it's no secret that IBM went through as thorough a restructuring as any institution in the world over the past five years. And before I describe the actions we took, I want to make one very fundamental point: Institutional restructuring, successful restructuring can't happen without a commitment at the top of the organization to embark on an effort that will take five years, minimum.

You must have an institutional commitment to stay with the program over multiple years. You must understand that the hard part isn't getting started. The hard part is seeing the changes through until you've achieved whatever objectives you've set.

Restructuring institutions is not just a matter of reassembling companies, and assets, and industries of shuffling around assets. Any truly serious, meaningful restructuring begins with a fundamental examination of everything you do, the processes by which you manage your enterprises.

IBM had to do this.

Of course, we had to address other critical issues -- our cost structure and the competitiveness of our products. These were difficult, but in many ways, they're not the most difficult part of the job. We also had to conduct a tough self assessment. We had to examine our strategic direction, our basic value proposition to our customers.

I believe that all enterprises have to do this kind of self-assessment. When you do it, you find that it leads directly to the core questions about where do you concentrate resources, where do you invest, where do you disinvest, where do you put your energy in order to lead.

The first aspect of restructuring, and a characteristic of every successful enterprise in the world today, is focus. By focus I mean:
* Fact-based, steely-eyed clarity about the markets you believe you can dominate and lead.
* Clarity about where all your resources will be concentrated, what businesses you'll invest in, and what businesses you'll get out of.

Of course, this requires a high degree of sophistication in your ability to segment markets, which in turn requires excellent information systems, how you collect information, and how you analyze it.

It also means a commitment to a corporate culture driven from the marketplace. For us at IBM, that meant we could no longer start everyday with invention, which was the way IBM operated for decades. Today, we start the day with the marketplace, with customer needs, with marketplace changes, and competitive understanding. We continuously ask ourselves: What are we good at? What can we be unique at?

These are very hard questions -- and they lead to directly to the next aspect of restructuring: Competitive benchmarking.

How can you restructure unless you know what you are trying to accomplish? What is the objective of the restructuring? Is the goal to be the best global competitor? To be the best within your nation? The best within your industry?

Once you've answered those questions, how do you quantify what it will take to be the best? You must be able to measure and understand your current position and where you stand relative to your competition on whatever criteria you decide is relevant, such as product quality, customer service, development costs, or cycle time.

So everything we do at IBM is measured against the best of class in our industry and, in some cases, other industries. That begins with our cost structure. I don't think you can be successful in a global economy unless you have best-of-class cost economics.

We went out and benchmarked, and we said to every one of our managers, "You must be equal, or better than the best." No exceptions. The benchmarking process told us we had to take $8 billion out of our cost structure. We decided to get it over quickly, and it's completed.

We also benchmarked quality, cycle time and speed. Cycle time to us is the early indicator of success. In fact, the imperative for speed is greater today than I have ever seen in 30 years.

You can almost argue today, "First is better than being right." Not quite, but almost. So when any of our businesses report their monthly results, we also ask for reports or progress on cycle time. It never ends, and entails the restructuring of the core processes of the enterprise.

The third aspect of restructuring is Re-engineering.

Many companies will take on one or two major re-engineering projects at a time. Rather than approaching it piecemeal, we attacked the entire organization at once. At any given time, we had more than 60 company-wide re-engineering projects underway, and hundreds more among individual units and divisions.

Because our re-engineering depended on global information systems, we discovered very quickly that we were going to have to completely re-engineer our internal information infrastructure. We sought to achieve common worldwide data bases, common marketing systems, common financial systems, fulfillment systems, manufacturing systems, and centralized data centers to avoid excessive cost and duplication.

As a result of this reengineering effort, we achieved our $8 billion in savings and we lowered the cost of our information technology structure expenses by 47 percent. We have cut hardware development time from four years to an average of 16 months, and for some products, to as fast as six months.
We've also improved our on-time shipment rate from 70 percent to 95 percent; we've reduced inventory carrying costs by $220 million and inventory write-offs by $800 million; we've reduced materials costs by close to $300 million; and delivery costs by $270 million.
And we've also seen our customer satisfaction indices rise significantly.

Of course, re-engineering isn't just a matter of cost savings. Our key objective is to move our business to the Net.

We're using the Internet to sell our products, to provide services and support to customers and business partners, to buy goods and services.

We're doing millions of dollars a day in business on the Web --- and we have customized extranet sites with our largest customers and Business Partners.

Finally, all restructuring must address issues of cultural change. This is the aspect of our transformation that I probably spend the most time on right now: How we get the most of our most precious asset: 270,000 IBM men & women.

We are working to build a culture of high-performance based around a few fundamental concepts.
* First, an obsession with the marketplace, focusing our entire efforts on delighting customers and overwhelming competitors.
* Speed of execution: building a culture that encourages and rewards speed, flexibility, risk-taking and continuous learning and adaptation.
* Finally, a culture built on teamwork -- one that puts the good of IBM ahead of any individual, department, unit or division.

Let me touch on just a few of the actions we've taken in this area.
First, training: As a company, we're investing $800 million every year in training and development of our employees. By the way, that's about $100 million more than we invested last year. Here in China, Henry's team has a total commitment to focusing on the skills of his people. So far this year, IBM China has conducted more than 20,000 student days in employee training.

No matter what stage of transformation are, we understand that the skills of IBM people will always be critical to our ability to compete.

Secondly, technology: Our information technology infrastructure supports our drive for speed, cycle time, as well as skill building. Our global intranet and collaborative Notes software rollout is reaching out to all of our employees, and to our customers and business partners.

As I mentioned earlier, over 350,000 people on our own internal network. It is the largest undertaking of its kind anywhere in the world, and it's all done to support institutional change, improve our ability to share knowledge and break down hierarchy.

For example, via our intranet site, we teach thousands of IBMers about new solutions and sales programs without any of the traditional physical requirements or costs associated with this kind of training.

Lotus Notes and the Internet are also central to our communications strategy. I personally use our Lotus Notes structure to reach every employee, simultaneously, any time I want, on issues of strategic importance.

These tools allow us to design virtual teams, manage them, get things done across without having people travel to meetings and lose productive time.

Finally, measurements: They are fundamental to cultural change. People must be told what is expected, and then rewarded based on the results they deliver.

We have changed our compensation systems to make sure we differentiate our top people from our average people, individuals and teams. And we've linked employee compensation directly to company performance.

But enough about IBM. I'd like to close with a personal comment on China.
China is embarking on an extraordinary new stage of its economic and industrial development. The restructuring of the state-owned enterprises is as big a transformation as any country has ever seen let alone implemented.

The process of transformation of the state-owned enterprises is well underway, as we discussed with Minister Sheng and President Jiang yesterday. Today it is working at the first stage of enterprise restructuring, which is to align industries, align assets, merge companies, and to create an industry infrastructure that is organizationally capable of becoming a globally successful enterprise or globally successful industry.

However, there's another phase to economic reform of state-owned enterprises that goes beyond structure, that goes beyond merging, that goes beyond aligning. It's about the processes by which the enterprises are managed. It goes to the kind of things I just talked about that we've been through with IBM.

Building the systems of cost control, of accounting, of inventory management, of supply chain management, of cash management, of customer relationships, and of benchmarking. These are all systems that aren't created through structural change.  They're created through process and cultural change.

And underpinning all of those systems -- what drives the creation of those systems -- is information technology. Information technology is the science -- the underlying science -- of institutional restructuring. It is the science you use to restructure institutions. It is the basis and the tools by which you build systems that allow institutions to be efficient and globally competitive.

China's information technology industry needs to evolve today along with the state-owned enterprises to support the transformation of China enterprises.

Today China's information technology industry is principally a hardware based industry. But it is absolutely critical that China build a software and services industry along with its hardware industry if the transformation of the state-owned enterprises is going to take place.

Because what we need in China is applications.We already have the computers, but what China needs now are the applications that run on the computers that will allow the state-owned enterprises to achieve this transformation.

I'm not talking about simple, unsophisticated software like spreadsheets, word processing, or games.  I'm talking about large, complex software that allows these companies to do all the things I talked about before: transaction processing, data management, billing, cash management, managing platforms, e-business opportunities.

China needs to build the industry that will adapt applications for abroad and build new applications out of the intellectual capital of the Chinese people.

And then a services industry has to emerge that will help China's institutions apply these technologies to their state-owned enterprises.

And finally there is, in my opinion, a very big opportunity for China to lead in the transformation of small and medium sized companies, including smaller state-owned enterprises. Because what will happen in the future is that software applications that allow companies to become efficient and globally competitive will be embedded in a network.

Small and medium sized companies will not have to build those applications. They will not have to pay for those applications. If China's telecom industry develops in the way we expect it will, and if focus is given to these Chinese applications, small and medium sized businesses will be able to, in effect, rent the applications, dial up on their telephone, and have a billing application, an accounting application, or an e-business application, to use without having to build it, pay up front, or maintain it.

But again, this requires a focus in China on the next stage of development of the information technology industry, which is to move beyond just making PCs and hardware to making intellectual capital. To making the real heart of an information technology system which is the application, not the hardware.

So it's interesting to see how China's extraordinarily important priority of restructuring the state-owned enterprises aligns very clearly and carefully with the next stage of development of the information technology industry in China. It aligns very clearly with the next phase of the information technology, which is e-business.

And through the evolution of Chinese-based applications, building on the e-business concept, there's a lot of opportunity and, I think, a lot of optimism about the success of the state-owned enterprise reformation program.

Thank you very much.

中国对于我来说有很特殊的意义。在过去的20年里，我有幸多次访问贵国。我想你们知道，对于IBM在中国的业务以及由周伟焜先生所领导的IBM中国员工，我们是多么的自豪。

IBM中国有限公司目前共有约2000多名员工。在中国，IBM还建立了7家合资企业。在这些合资企业里，目前有3000多名员工正在从事应用软件开发以及产品制造。我们与数百家中国企业有愉快的合作，并一直保持强大的投资力度。IBM最具战略性的、发展最快的业务之一就是存储设备。IBM在中国建有存储产品开发和制造设施，其生产的产品源源不断地供应给IBM全球各地的装配厂。

在这些设施中，包括深圳海量存储设备公司，IBM在过去的两年中，共投资了两亿美金。今年四月，IBM建立了一个IBM中国信息支持中心，为我们的产品和服务提供技术支持。这个中心是亚洲最先进的。与原中国国家教委合作，IBM的中国大学计划迄今共向20多所中国大学的信息技术培训中心捐赠了总价值达七千万美元的设备、培训和服务。

去年秋天，在江泽民主席访美期间，我有幸接待了江主席。应江主席的要求，我们向他演示了IBM一些最新的科技成果，其中包括我们引以为豪的中文语音识别系统。这个奇妙的产品是由IBM在北京的一流实验室开发成功的。

昨天，我非常高兴地再次拜会了江泽民主席。我们就加强IBM和中国的关系，以及IBM如何为国有企业改革助一臂之力深入广泛地交换了意见。

IBM与中国的合作长达半个世纪。我认为，目前中国充满了令人激动的发展机遇。这些机遇产生于贵国全面的现代化进程以及在政府领导下对数以千计国有企业的雄心勃勃的改革。

我认为，在如此巨大的变革中，信息技术正在成为商业竞争和经济增长的重要推动力量。

所以，今天我想和各位谈一谈信息技术。我相信它必须列入所有企事业机构的议事日程，不管是企业、政府部门、大学、医院还是银行 。我想以我加入IBM之前的视角来谈谈这个议题。

各位当中有人会知道，来IBM任职之前，我的背景在许多方面和你们是一样的。我那时是IBM的客户，或者说我是信息产业的客户。到IBM任职时，我有一个坚定的信念：信息技术是一项划时代的技术；这样的技术一百年左右才会出现一次，而且它的到来会改变人类社会的一切。

尽管人们接受我的观点，但当时却很难找到支持这种观点的实例，来说明由于使用信息技术而改变了各行各业。

今天，在几乎任何一个产业里，在世界的每一个角落，都有许多企业通过运用信息技术来增强自己的竞争力并给同行业的对手带来挑战。我认为我们已经看到信息技术正在进入所有划时代的技术都会经历的一个重要阶段，它们开始时为少数专业人员所掌握，而后转变到为大众所接受，并无处不在。

虽然网络技术尚待发展，但是它已经可以被称为一个新的大众媒体。
要知道，在美国，为吸引五千万用户：
无线电广播用了30年的时间；
电视用了13年的时间；
有线电视用了10年的时间。

互联网络所用的时间不到有线电视的一半。万维网诞生还不到五年，全球已有九千万人在使用它。不需要多久，使用它的人就将数以亿计。

当然在美国，无论是个人还是企事业，都比在其它国家更充分地运用网络。但是有一点很明显，网络是个全球性的媒体:
很快，访问英文万维网站的人数和访问其他语种网站的人数就会一样多；
除美国以外，还有五个国家分别有10%的人口使用网络；

在中国，自去年10月到现在，互联网络使用者的人数翻了一番，达到100多万。我所掌握的统计资料表明，到2001年，中国互联网络使用者将超过7百万人。

有些人正在谈论一种"互联网络蛙跳"现象。这是一个下大赌注的游戏。在这个游戏中，运用互联网技术最为精明的国家和地区，将很快在生产、生产力和赢利水平的增长方面超过其它国家和地区。

今天，这项"互联网络蛙跳"游戏正在广阔的天地里进行着。我们知道网络用户数目已达到9千万，有人说这叫“万众一网”。其实，如果中国和印度有4%的人上网，那么全球范围内互联网络使用者的数目将翻一番。

上面列举了一些有趣的数字。但真正重要的问题是：这些个人以及单位究竟在互联网络上做些什么呢？

不久以前，比较盛行的看法是：互联网络是用来检索信息的，或者是一种个人之间的交流工具，是电话和邮政服务的替代者。

今天，很明显，互联网络代表着比聊天，或向人们播报体育比赛成绩和天气预报更深远的变革。互联网络成为一种威力强大的工具，凭借它，人们可以进行各种交互式活动。

当然互联网络正在改变商品买卖的方式。电子交易正蓬勃展开。最保守的估计是，到世纪之交（距今仅有500天的时间），它将发展成为交易额达两千亿美元的市场，其中大部分是企业与企业之间进行的交易。

虽然去年美国国内的互联网络交易活动占全球总数的86%，世界其它地区却也正在以一种认真的态度进入这一领域。据预测到2002年，美国以外的互联网络交易活动将占全球总额的36%。但是我们身边正在发生的事情却不仅仅是交易，不仅仅是买和卖。

在IBM，我们使用一个更具描述性的词汇：电子商务，来描述所有在互联网络上进行的重要事务。

电子商务包括：企事业内部员工之间的交流活动，供应链上商业伙伴之间的交易，以及其它如改变老师教育学生、医生诊治病人和政府服务公民方式的网上事务和活动。

所有这些活动都将数字化。它们不一定取代我们今天所熟悉的面对面的活动，但是会加强这些活动。

多元电器集团正利用互联网加强所有供货商、批发商和零售商之间的联系。虽然还处于发展的初级阶段，但该公司将网络技术视为提高生产能力和增强与大公司竞争能力的关键。

在中国电信的支持下，IBM正与湖南省信息产业局开发一个网上支付系统。其中第一项电子商务应用是通过互联网用中国银行长城卡支付电话费。

我们在与全球范围内客户的合作过程中发现，当他们开始引入电子商务时，都会走一条基本可以预测的“三步曲”式的道路。

首先，他们将企事业信息放到互联网上。比如产品目录，课程设置，以及查询用电话号码。

然后，提供一定程度的交互功能，主要用于为客户服务。例如，它可以让客户随时追踪邮包的投递情况。日本Yamato运输公司和美国联合包裹公司正在这样做。联合包裹公司现正开展一个全新的商务活动，也就是互联网络商务活动的第三阶段，也是最令人激动的阶段。

这一阶段代表了电子商务所带来的真正的变革以及主要的回报。企业在此阶段大大地前进了一步，开展真正基于互联网络的活动。

联合包裹公司现在提供一种安全保密的互联网络文件传递服务。这项服务就象把文件放入信封交给一名办事员或快递司机一样安全，但是能节约20-50%的费用。

想一想联合包裹公司的服务。这其实是他们在通过创新向传统的包裹邮递服务提出挑战。这是互联网上的快递服务。但联合包裹公司认为未来是数字化的时代--他们预测，将来30%的邮递服务要通过互联网络来进行。联合包裹公司正在朝这个方向迅速迈进。

网络世界真正的革命就体现在这样的决策之中。这并不只是技术的问题。这是因为，当银行、学校、教堂、航空公司、医院和政府部门通过互联网络让人们进行业务和社会活动时，它们就必须对现行的办事方式进行根本性的变革。

正如大家所知道的，机构改革是很困难的。不过，由于诱惑是如此之大，越来越多的机构都开始了转变。让我举例说明一下。

首先，网络改变了基本的经济因素。网络使得事务处理费用大幅度降低。全球各航空公司估计，出一张机票的平均费用是8美元。如果在网上订票，那么处理费用就降到1美元。

 银行出纳员接待一名客户的费用是至少1美元。如果通过网上交易，费用将降低到1美分左右，也就是只有原来的1%。

在亚洲大部分地区，人们依旧用传统的方式进行股票交易。但是这种方式正在变化。今年夏天，韩国Daishin证券公司开始实行安全的网上证券交易。据估计，全球有5百万人现在通过互联网络进行交易。

美国的E-Trade证券交易公司是一家严格意义上的网上证券交易公司。开业仅6年，该公司所管理的资产已经超过100亿美元。而他们与客户的往来都是在互联网上进行的。Charles Schwab公司是电子证券交易领域的领导者。这家公司每星期通过互联网络进行的证券交易金额达到20亿美金。

网络的另外一个好处是：它破除了诸如时间和距离等限制市场机会的壁垒。这表明网络彻底改变了竞争的性质。这一点对中国尤其重要。网络世界还使得竞争更为公平，特别是对于小企业，这是以前的信息技术没有实现的。

在苏格兰一个偏僻的村庄里，有一家只有四个人的啤酒厂。每周，这家啤酒厂通过互联网络接受来自全世界啤酒爱好者的定单。互联网络使他们在不增加成本的情况下进入全球市场。秘鲁一家连锁超级市场估计，新开一个店面需要400万至500万美元的投资。但在他们仅投资10万美元建立起来的虚拟商店里，客户可以采购数千种商品。虚拟商店使他们的营业收入增多。同时他们还利用电子邮件来推销商品，这比用印刷品要便宜得多。

我最喜欢提的例子之一是一家位于美国宾夕法尼亚州艾伦镇的小公司，乐海山谷安全设备供应公司（LeHigh Valley Safety Supply）。过去，他们生产的耐用工作靴的销售范围只限于他们开车能到达的地方，因为他们的销售方法就是用卡车拉出去卖。后来，IBM帮助他们上了互联网。现在，该公司通过这个网站接受来自泰国工人和全世界海上钻井平台的定单。没有建立分公司，没有雇佣律师，也没有建立一个新的管理体制，但是一夜之间，他们变成了一家全球性公司。

网络的作用不仅仅限于商业交易。

在墨西哥大学的Monterrey Tech，有7万名学生通过互联网络学习2500门课程。加拿大Athabasca大学的工商管理硕士专业则更进一步。他们的校园里没有一名学生，因为他们根本就没有传统意义上的校园。所有的课程都是通过互联网络来教授。该专业的教师遍布加拿大、美国和英国。在加拿大，他们赢得了30%经理人员MBA课程的市场。

政府利用互联网络来加强竞争优势，改进对公民的服务，并能直观地证明政府在很有效率地使用纳税人的钱。西班牙南部的瓦伦西亚将所有村庄都连通互联网络，人们可以通过网络与当地的企业进行交易，与医生约诊， 并获取他们孩子所在学校的信息。

上海以及其他主要的亚洲港口城市都在竞争，希望成为地区和国际商业中心。新加坡在这一领域中又刚刚向前迈进了一步，他们决定将1万家供应商上网。如果想和新加坡做生意，就必须采用电子手段。新加坡正在开发新软件，以降低成本，缩短周期。当竞争优势取决于使船只和货物快速进出港口的能力时，这一点是很重要的。

过去，政府使用传统的手段如税收优惠或较高的劳动力技能水平来吸引投资，增加就业机会；将来，它们将在很大程度上依靠电子能力来竞争。

网络的第三种功能就是重新定义传统的流通模式。

每一家位处产品生产商和最终消费者之间的企业必须重新思考他们的价值，因为网络使得生产商和消费者的直接交易成为可能，尤其是那些小宗的产品和服务。

在电子交易时代，金融机构如银行、保险公司必须问自己这样一个问题：银行究竟意味着什么？银行，从其定义来看，是买卖双方之间，或者说资金的供给方和需求方之间的中介。同样的，如果不需要教室或校园就可以教授学生，大学又意味着什么？

与流通密切相连的一个问题，是网络经济给品牌管理带来的影响。这种影响是双重的。网络使商家得以扩展其品牌的影响力，同时，网络也给品牌标识带来新的威胁。任何一个建有网站的企业，都可以在全球任何一个地方向最稳固的品牌发出挑战。

但是品牌管理受到的影响还有另外一面。这就需要提到网上集成，它指的是，企业将各种不同的产品和服务集合起来，在同一个品牌之下销售。

这样的例子已经很多。在英国，几家主要的连锁杂货店正进军金融服务业。在美国，你可以通过美国航空公司来申请抵押贷款。航空公司并不办理抵押贷款业务，但它向申请者收取一定的介绍费。他们的目标客户是他们最好的常旅客。

当你考虑在全球的业务运作时，有一点是至关重要的，那就是你的公司和你的客户看到的是你的品牌，还是另外一个集成品牌。公用事业公司，有线电视公司，电话公司，互联网络服务供应商(和一家非常大的软件公司)，都试图成为你和客户之间的集成服务商。

这样，就产生了一个大问题。不是技术问题，而是战略性问题。如果我们的品牌隐在一家软件公司或者在线服务公司品牌的背后，我们应该如何保护和宣传自己的品牌？如果我们要选择这些电子渠道提供产品和服务，那么我们将与谁合作？谁将拥有对交易和顾客信息的控制权？

这是很重要的抉择。掌握了客户信息就意味着控制了客户关系。

最后，我想以几个问题来结束这个讨论。我鼓励企业领导都问这样的问题。在IBM内部，我们也向自己问这样的问题。

首先，在我们的公司、医疗机构、大学或政府部门里，大家谈论这样的议题吗？它们是否列入了我们重要的议事日程。我们是否谈论竞争对手正在做些什么？我们是否谈论如何利用这个电子世界？

顺便说一句，你不能假定现在的竞争对手就是将来的对手。正如我们刚才所讨论的，网络改变了整个竞争的性质。

北美一家大百科全书连锁销售公司，看到由于网络的兴起，人们只要用十分低廉的花费，就可进入读书学习的世界，于是决定将它的销售队伍全部解散。

于是，就网络是否会创造或者减少就业机会，我们可以进行一次很有意义、很重要的讨论。在过去的一百年里，一项革命性新技术的出现，不论是电灯、汽车、载人飞行或新的网络经济，往往在开始时会减少一些就业机会，但随后会创造新的就业机会，而这恰是所有工业社会都须正视的一种过渡阶段。而且，许多新创造的就业机会收入会更高。

互联网络将给每个国家，它的教育体制，以及它在网络世界里获得新机会的能力带来深远的影响。中国有许多儿童需要接受教育。那么互联网络和远程学习对此能起什么样的作用？

第二个问题，我希望大家都想一想：至少我们是否在试着做些什么？我们是否已开始踏入网络世界？你可以不必成为一名先锋。也不必要一哄而上，一夜之间改变你的企业。也许做一个旁观者或跟随者也未尝不可。

但是我要告诉你，这项技术变化太快了，最实用的战略之一，就是尽快获得至少是初步的电子商务经验。你不能等到其他组织或国家已经充分利用了这项技术后，才开始行动。

这包括开始在您的企业内部应用电子商务。在IBM，我们通过站点和一个功能强大的集成式软件Lotus Notes把员工和外部伙伴 -- 共计超过30万人 -- 联结在一起。

我们在努力成为自己行业的领导者，为此我们依靠的是自己在企业内部传播和交流思想和见解的能力。你们也许知道，这被称为知识管理，或知识共享。

我确信，在二十一世纪中，对于各种机构来来说，最为重要的技能，就是把信息转化为真知，并将其传递给需要它的人。未来我们将依旧通过传统的手段，如劳动力和资本来进行竞争。但是最大的赢家将是那些最善于捕捉和使用信息，并将其变成智慧的企业。

我们要问的第三个问题是：你的系统为网络世界作好准备了吗？

联入了互联网络，就如同给你所在的企业、教育机构或政府部门打开了新的大门。你可能发现，在任何时刻，都有几百万的人试图进入这扇门。因此你的网站必须能处理这样大的访问流量，而且能够每年365天、每周7天、每天24小时地开放。

在IBM，当我们决定开展电子商务时，这些都是我们必须解决的问题。谈了IBM努力改变自己迎接电子商务时代，自然便引入了我讲话的下一个部分。

IBM中国公司的同事们告诉我，你们对近几年来IBM大规模的变革非常感兴趣，这次变革涉及财务、竞争力和企业文化。当然，我们最近的变革，是以拥抱电子商务为中心的。实际上，我们已经宣布了这样一个目标，就是努力成为阐释电子商务全部含义的第一个范例。

现在，我想谈一谈这次变革。首先要说的是，我是以一种非常谦卑的心态谈这件事的。我无意表明我们的经验适用于您现在的处境。我将介绍一下那场变革的几个要点，并希望我们的经历可能对你们有用。

在过去5年中，IBM经历了一个机构所能经历的最彻底的变革。这已经不是什么秘密了。在讲述我们采取的措施之前，我想先表达一个基本的观点： 如果企业的高层没有决心拿出起码是5年的时间来进行改革，那么机构性的重组很难成功。

你必须让整个公司准备好为这样的计划付出数年的时间，而且要明白，难的并不在开始，而是将变革推行下去，直至达到目的。

企业重组不是简单的机构和资产重组。在进行任何认真的、有意义的公司重组之前，都必须对你所做的每一件事以及你管理企业的程序进行根本性的评价。

IBM必须做这项工作。

当然，我们必须解决关键性的问题――我们的成本结构和产品的竞争力。这很困难，但从很多方面来看，并不是最困难的部分。我们必须进行艰苦的自我评估，审视自己的战略方向，以及对客户来说我们的价值所在。

我相信所有的公司都必须进行此类的自我评估。这样做之后，你会发现它们会直接引出一些核心问题，涉及在哪里集中资源，增加或减少投资，在哪里投入力量以获得市场的领导权。

重组的第一个方面，是找准重点，集中力量。能够做到这一点，我认为是全球每一个成功企业的特点之一。所谓集中力量，我指的是：
* 根据事实，十分清楚地定位我们相信自己能够占有优势和领导权的市场。
* 十分清楚在哪里集中资源，在哪里投资，以及从哪里退出。

当然，这需要有将市场进行合理划分的全面能力。而要具备这项能力，就需要完善的信息系统，如信息搜集，信息分析。

它同时还意味着你必须执着于受市场驱动的企业文化。对于我们，这意味着我们不能只局限于发明，而IBM过去一直存在这样的问题。今天，我们一切都从市场出发：客户的需求是什么？市场在如何变化？我们的竞争优势是什么？而且我们不断地问自己：我们擅长什么，什么是我们所独有的？

这些都是很难回答的问题，而它们又直接引出重组的下一个方面：竞争力的衡量。

如果连想达到什么目标都不知道，你又怎么能够进行重组呢？重组的目标何在？你的目标是做全球最优秀的企业，还是要做全国或是全行业最好的？

在回答了这些问题之后，还必须问自己：怎样量化我的制胜之道？你必须根据特定的标准，了解自己在市场中的位置。这需要从产品质量、客户服务、开发成本、周期时间等方面考虑。

我们所做的任何事，都和同行业甚至其他行业最好的相比。首先是我们的成本结构。我认为，一家企业如果没有最佳的成本结构，是不会成为成功的全球企业的。

我们动手进行对比。每一位经理都被告知：你必须和最好的一样好，或者更好。 没有例外。比照的结果使我们了解到，必须从成本结构中节约80亿美元。我们决定要很快达到目标。现在这项任务已经完成了。

我们还进行质量、运作周期和速度的对比。运作周期对我们来说是成功的开始。而事实上，企业对速度的追求比30年来的任何时候都要迫切。

你几乎可以说，“做第一比做得对更重要”。不全对，可也差不多。当我们的业务部门汇报季度和月份经营业绩时，我们也要求他们汇报在运作周期方面的进展。这种重组永无休止，而且要求公司的核心运作进行重组

企业重组的第三个方面是业务重组。

大部分公司会同时进行一到两个大的业务重组计划。我们并非小修小补。任何时候，全公司范围的项目都会有超过60个同时在实施，而分公司或部门级别的重组则有成百上千个。

由于重组需要依靠全球性的信息系统，我们很快发现，应该完全重组我们的内部信息基础设施，以便拥有统一的覆盖全球的信息库，以及统一的营销系统、财务系统、合同执行系统、制造系统和客户服务系统，集中的数据中心，从而防止过度花费和重复花费。

通过重组，我们共节约了80亿美元的资金，并将内部的信息技术费用降低了47%。
我们还取得了以下成果：
* 将硬件的开发时间由4年降到平均16个月。有些产品的开发只需要6个月。
* 准时发货率由70%提高到95%；存货费用减少了2.2亿美元，货品注销费用减少了8亿美元；材料费用降低了近3亿美元；发货费用降低了2.7亿美元。
* 客户满意度大幅度提高。

当然，重组不单单降低成本。我们的主要目的是把我们的业务转到网络上来。

现在我们通过互联网络来出售产品，向客户和业务伙伴提供服务和支持，并采购产品和服务。

每天，我们通过互联网络的销售额达到数百万美元。客户可以访问我们的网站，以及我们与其他大客户和业务伙伴所建立的外部网站，查询我们的产品目录。

最后，任何的重组都必须解决转变企业文化的问题。在这次变革的各个方面中，企业文化转变可能是我目前花费时间最多的，它关系到如何最大限度地发挥27万名IBM男女雇员的潜力。

因此我们正在围绕几个基本观念建立一种激励员工充分发挥自我的企业文化。
* 首先，对市场的高度重视：让客户感到满意，压倒竞争对手。
* 快速执行：建立一种企业文化，鼓励速度、灵活性、敢于冒险、不断学习和适应能力。
* 最后，重视团队精神：这种精神将IBM的利益置于任何个人、部门和团体利益之前。

我简单说一下我们所采取的措施：
1． 培训：在全公司范围内，我们今年共投资8亿美元用于员工的培训。这比去年增加了约1亿美元。IBM中国公司不遗余力地提高员工技能，今年在培训方面共完成了2万个学习日。

不管我们进行何种形式的转变，员工素质对我们的竞争能力都是最关键的。

2． 技术：我们的信息技术设施能够支持我们提高速度、缩短运作周期和让员工掌握优异技能的努力。我们全球化的企业内部网 以及集成型的Lotus Notes软件正在扩展到每一名员工，以及许多客户和业务伙伴。

我们内部网络的连机用户将达到35万，这是世界最大的。这些都是为了向机构变革、提高知识共享能力和打破官僚体制提供支持。

例如，通过企业内部网，我们向成千上万名IBM员工教授新的解决方案和销售计划。过去，这样的培训需要场地设施，并花费大量的费用。

Lotus和互联网对我们的交流战略而言也是很重要的。我本人使用Lotus Notes随时就战略性问题和员工交流。

这些工具帮助我们建立和管理虚拟团队，完成工作，而不必让员工奔波于会议之间，浪费宝贵的时间。

3. 最后，业绩评价：业绩评价与企业文化的转变息息相关。员工必须被告知公司对他的期待，并根据工作成绩给其相应的报酬。

我们改革了公司的报酬体制，向那些表现优异的个人和团体倾斜。而且我们把员工的报酬与公司的业绩联系在一起。

关于IBM我就讲到这里。最后，我想谈谈对中国经济的一些个人看法。中国已经开始了全新的经济和工业发展阶段。国有企业重组这一变革的规模之大，是其他国家未曾见过的，更别说实施过的了。

国企改革已经全面铺开，关于这个问题，我昨天已经与江泽民主席和盛主任交流过看法。目前，改革正经历第一步，内容包括产业调整、资产调整、公司合并，目的是建立稳固的行业基础，为全球性成功企业和产业的出现提供可能。

然而，国企改革的另一个层面超越了结构改变、合并和调整，涉及企业的经营管理方式，也与我刚才谈的IBM所经历过的有关。

建立成本控制、财务、库存管理、供货链管理、现金管理、客户服务、基准评价等系统，都不是企业结构的改变能作到的，而只能通过管理和企业文化的转变得以实现。

而所有这些系统的基础，以及它们的建立，都离不开信息技术。信息技术是机构改革的关键性科学手段，可以帮助你进行机构的重组。它是你建立所需体系的基础和工具，这些系统能提高你的效率和全球竞争力。

中国的信息技术需要与国有企业一同演进，这样才能支持国企转轨。

目前，中国的信息产业基本是以硬件为基础的产业。但是，如果要实现国有企业的转变，我认为建立软件开发和信息技术服务业很关键。

中国所需要的是应用软件。我们需要的不是增加更多的电脑，电脑的数量已经不少了。 我们需要应用，在电脑上运行的、能帮助国有企业完成转变的应用软件。

我所说的并非简单的软件，比如电子表格、文字处理、游戏等，这些不是我们在这里讨论的。我们谈论的是企业级的大型、复杂的软件，它们可以让公司完成刚才我提到的所有业务运作：交易处理、数据管理、收费、现金管理、管理平台以及电子商务机会的利用等。

中国需要这样一个产业，它能适应国外出现的新的技术应用，同时还能依靠中国人自己的智力资源，开发新的应用。

另外，还应有相应的信息技术服务业。 只有服务业的出现才能帮助中国的国有企业和机构应用这些技术。

最后，我个人认为，中国有很大的潜力和机会，成为国有中小企业改革的先行者。在将来，能提高企业效率和竞争力的软件，会嵌入网络之内。

中小企业不需要自己开发这些应用软件。它们也不必为这些应用付费。如果中国的电信业能按照所期望的道路发展，如果这些中文应用软件被作为一个重点，那么，中小型企业就可以租这些应用。只需要拨号上网，便可以进行计费、审计、电子商务等应用。它们自己不必做开发、预先付费、维护等。

中国需要关注信息技术发展的下一个阶段，即在生产PC和硬件之外，创造知识资产，触及信息技术的核心--应用软件，而非硬件。

作为中国经济发展的重中之重，国有企业的重组和中国信息技术下一个阶段的发展很明确、很细致地联系在一起，同时也和全球信息技术的下一个阶段--电子商务联系在一起。

随着中国基础应用的演进并加之以电子商务的理念，我认为国有企业改革的进程中充满了机遇，成功前景令人感到非常乐观。

谢谢大家。

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