Eyebrows have been raised in one or two quarters at the claim by IBM Corp’s Integrated Systems Solutions Co facilities management and systems integration subsidiary that its turnover will soar to some $4,000m this year: the figure sounds big but it is heavily dependent on just what is included and how some of the contracts with terms of five to 10 years are accounted for; the figure presumably includes a huge amount of intra-company trading because the business is intended to take over most of IBM’s own internal computer facilities and operations, representing business that will be counted twice (in the same way that if IBM France sells IBM Germany a mainframe made in Montpellier for onward sale to a customer, the machine goes through the books of both IBM France and IBM Germany); another factor that will increase total turnover is that some of the business the unit has won, such as the monster contract won from McDonnell Douglas Corp actually involves Integrated Systems Solutions buying a business from McDonnell (at an undisclosed price) – a business that serves outside customers as well as McDonnell.
