They had vertical integration and made bank. Then each layer got more complex as computing became mainstream, and IBM got out-competed on everyone of them by specialized companies. And then they sold them off. The only layer that remains is the most strategic: the customer relationship.
In some areas IBM still holds if not a technological advantage at least the first among equals position, they just aren't areas that are flashy or generally known outside of folks like us - Mainframes and related technologies for example, the IBM Z series is still a huge player there.
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They had vertical integration and made bank. Then each layer got more complex as computing became mainstream, and IBM got out-competed on everyone of them by specialized companies. And then they sold them off. The only layer that remains is the most strategic: the customer relationship.
IBM is now just a consultancy.
Not much is left of the great IBM, but their Z architecture is still superior when it comes to reliability at scale.
In fact, "what happened to IBM?", they were in the news recently: https://wccftech.com/ibm-worlds-first-dual-architecture-proc...
Creating the world's first dual instruction set CPU.
World's first? What about the VIA C3 (or earlier NEC V20)? I'm sure there are more / earlier ones.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternate_Instruction_Set
That's not the same thing, it's more like a hidden feature than the ISA of an entirely different CPU.
There was also the semi-mythical PowerPC 615 that was meant to have both PowerPC and x86 instruction sets. W
I think that's a little simplistic/reductive.
In some areas IBM still holds if not a technological advantage at least the first among equals position, they just aren't areas that are flashy or generally known outside of folks like us - Mainframes and related technologies for example, the IBM Z series is still a huge player there.
They are also a consultancy though.
They still produce the mainframe hardware ranges though.
Except that they own Red Hat