IT Consulting Firm

IBM Case Study Interview Intro

You are the managing director of a large international consulting firm. Traditional strengths of your firm have been solving strategy and organizational issues. Recently, you have noticed an increasing number of your firm’s proposals are being rejected because of a lack of information technology expertise in your firm. 

So far, your firm’s growth has been strong enough that proposals lost have not hurt annual earnings. Nonetheless, you are becoming increasingly concerned about the need to develop the firm’s capabilities in information technology.

Assuming your concern is valid, what reasons will you provide to other partners about the need to acquire information technology skills?

Case Study Overview

In this IBM case study interview, you are undertaking the task of convincing your fellow partners of a critical need for the growth of your firm – gaining more IT skills within your company. Your job is to dive deep into the market, find the data you need to support your recommendations and come up with a solid strategy to win them over.

The Market Study Framework is a great place to start for this case, but we recommend you use it as a starting place. Implement parts of the other basic frameworks as necessary to fill out your structure and incorporate your own skills and creativity to get the job done.

This IBM case has a qualitative degree of difficulty of 2 out of 4 and no math diagrams, and will help you prepare for a first round interview.

IBM Interview Tips

What does IBM GBS look for in its future consultants? The ability to develop high-level structures and bring insight to the case.

In this case, make sure you find one key observation that may not be immediately recognizable.

Focus on timing yourself as you walk through this IBM case study interview: 2min for structure, 2min for brainstorming, 2min for conclusion.

Need extra help prepping for your IBM interview? Book an hour of out-loud case practice with an expert interview coach today.