IBM Press Room: IBM Centennial http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/32887.wss As centennial looms, IBM CEO succession talk perks up http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/as-centennial-looms-ibm-ceo-succession-talk-perks-up/50451 The Backstory on IBM's Centennial Book: Making the World Work Better http://asmarterplanet.com/blog/2011/06/the-backstory-on-ibms-centennial-book-making-the-world-work-better.html Corporations: The Brain Builders http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,937187,00.html IBM Research: Deep Blue http://www.research.ibm.com/deepblue/ On June 16, 2011, IBM celebrated its 100th year anniversary, and it has been a rather interesting trip for a company that began with the merger of four companies in 1911. The company is known colloquially as "Big Blue", and over the past century they have sold computer hardware, engaged in multinational consulting projects, and been a leader in nanotechnology. As this centennial is celebrated, many have asked, "How has IBM done it?" It's a good question, and one that has been the subject of TV programs, scholarly discussions, and industry blogs in the past several weeks. Professor Moss Kanter of the Harvard Business School suggests, "From the beginning, IBM had a concept of itself as an institution, not just a technology company." Another reason for their longevity may be IBM's move, in recent years, to become much less hierarchical and more open to suggestions from internal sources, like key employees. Finally, the company has also embarked on a much more ambitious and methodical set of financial plans, including selling off businesses that no longer yield a sufficient profit margin. No matter what they have done or plan to do in the future, celebrating 100 years in business is a remarkable feat. The first link will take visitors to a recent piece from The Economist which reports on how IBM has changed with the times over the past century to remain profitable and relevant. The second link leads to the official film made by IBM for their centennial. Moving along, the third link leads to a piece from this Monday's ZDNET about the next possible CEO at IBM. The fourth link will whisk users away to a piece from the "Building a Smarter Planet" blog which profiles Steve Hamm's work on creating the IBM centennial book, "Making the World Work Better". The fifth link leads to a terrific piece from the Mar 28, 1955 edition of Time magazine about the world of corporations, with tremendous detail on the state of IBM in the mid-1950s. The final link leads to IBM's homepage for the fabled 1997 chess match between world chess champion Garry Kasparov and the Deep Blue Supercomputer. Visitors to the site can learn about the match, check out the chess moves deployed by the two participants, and learn more about Deep Blue.