Strategic information II: The Wilkerson Group

IBM's acquisition of The Wilkerson Group, one of the best known consulting firms to the pharmaceutical, device, diagnostic and biotech industries, was driven by the recognition by both companies that their information-driven businesses had reached a critical juncture.

"We had concluded that we needed to do a couple of things to move into the next phase of development," said TWG Chairman John Wilkerson. "We needed the right capitalization to become global. And, while we have been providing development strategies for clients, we lacked the resources to help them implement those strategies, especially from the information side. ...