IBM to Tailor Software for Industries in Bid to Lift Sales

IBM Corp. said Monday that it would revamp its $13.1-billion software business, second in sales to Microsoft Corp., next month to win more sales to bigger customers.

The company’s 13,000-member software sales force and 20,000 software engineers will spend more time developing programs for specific industries rather than just general products such as database or server software, spokesman Tim Breuer said.

No jobs will be lost at Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM as a result, he said.

The move will help IBM gain orders from large corporate customers that prefer programs tailored to their needs, investors said. Senior Vice President Steve Mills runs IBM’s software division.

The company plans to spend several hundred million dollars on advertising to promote the new strategy.

Shares of IBM rose 47 cents to $91.01 in New York Stock Exchange trading. They have gained 17% this year.