Global Business Services: Technology Services & Cloud Platforms: Systems: Global Financing: 10 GBS competes in consulting, systems integration, application management and business process outsourcing services. The company competes with broad based competitors including: Accenture, Capgemini, DXC Technology (DXC), Fujitsu, Google and Microsoft; India-based service providers; the consulting practices of public accounting firms; and many companies that primarily focus on local markets or niche service areas. Technology Services & Cloud Platforms competes in project services, managed and outsourcing services, cloud-delivered services, and a wide range of technical and IT support services. The company competes with IT service providers including: Atos, DXC, Fujitsu, HCL, Tata Consulting Services, Wipro and many companies that primarily focus on local markets or niche service areas. The company also competes with cloud platform vendors such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Oracle. This segment also includes the company's Integration Software offerings. Integration Software helps clients address the digital imperatives to create, connect and optimize their applications, data and infrastructure on their journey to become cognitive businesses. The company competes with Amazon, BMC, Microsoft, Oracle and VMWare, as well as companies that primarily focus on niche solutions and offerings. The enterprise server and storage market is characterized by competition in technology and service innovation focused on value, function, reliability, price and cost performance. The company's principal competitors include Dell Technologies, Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), Intel and lower cost original device manufacturer systems that are often re-branded. Also, alternative as-a-service providers are leveraging innovation in technology and service delivery both to compete with traditional providers and to offer new routes to market for server and storage systems. These alternative providers include Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and IBM's own cloud-based services. The company gains advantage and differentiation through investments in higher value capabilities—from semiconductor through software stack innovation—that increase efficiency, lower cost and improve performance. The company's research and development capabilities and intellectual property patent portfolio contribute significantly to this segment's leadership across areas as diverse as high performance computing, virtualization technologies, software optimization, power management, security, multi-operating system capabilities and open technologies like interconnect standards to be leveraged by broad ecosystems. Global Financing provides client financing, commercial financing and participates in the remarketing of used equipment. Global Financing's access to capital and its ability to manage credit and residual value risk generates a competitive advantage for the company. The key competitive factors include interest rates charged, IT product experience, client service, contract flexibility, ease of doing business, global capabilities and residual values. In client and commercial financing, Global Financing competes with three types of companies in providing financial services to IT customers: other captive financing entities of IT companies such as Cisco and HPE, non-captive financing entities and banks or financial institutions. In remarketing, the company competes with local and regional brokers plus original manufacturers in the fragmented worldwide used IT equipment market.