Is IBM’s Growth Story Here to Stay?

As one would expect, chief executives often tend to put the best possible spin on their growth narratives, but in the case of International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM), Chief Executive Officer Ginni Rometty has the numbers to back up her case.

During the company’s presentation to investors on Thursday, Rometty based her reasoning on one simple fact; IBM customers are increasingly relying on analytics to study the flood of data on which their businesses depend, she said. Rometty had the data to back up this assertion as well. When her company first set its goal for annual sales from analyzing business data back in 2010, revenue for that year came in at approximately $10 billion. Then, the target growth for the five-year period, ending in 2015, was set at $16 billion.

But in the years between when that goal was first made and 2012, IBM’s business-analytics unit has taken off, posting sales increase of 13 percent in the last 12-month period. As a result, the company is lifting its target to $20 billion for the five-year period, according to Bloomberg. The publication noted that this move could help investors feel more confident about the strength of IBM in general.

“Data will be the basis of competitive advantage for every company, for every industry, for the next decade” said Rometty, who based her comments meetings with 500 chief executives of IBM clients last year, according to Bloomberg.