IBM’s Q3 2012 results were not inspiring but they did provide further insight into the challenges large IT system and services suppliers are facing and how IBM is tackling them. Software is a pivotal piece of its strategy, both for the direct revenue it brings and its role in pulling through services business. For all its acquisitions in high growth areas such as analytics and the cloud, IBM has portfolio of older software that is starting to act as drag on the software business as a whole. TechMarketView subscribers can read further analysis in IBM: software ascent slowed but importance still rising.