Today， computing and its uses are again changing radically —— to what we've been describing as on demand business. This is opening up tremendous opportunities for IBM， and it's why we have invested billions of dollars in recent years to strengthen our capabilities in hardware， software， services and core technologies focused on transforming the enterprise. At the same time， the PC business is rapidly taking on characteristics of the home and consumer electronics industry， which favors economies of scale， pricing power and a focus on individual users and buyers. These are very different business and economic models， and they will diverge even further in the years ahead.

　　By combining our personal computing division with its own， highly complementary business， Lenovo will be much better positioned to capture the opportunities in the PC industry. Lenovo is committed to investing in， growing and winning in PCs. Lenovo will be a formidable competitor， and our alliance gives IBM an even stronger position in China， while strengthening our brand presence there.

　　Of course， IBM will continue to play a significant role in creating innovations for individuals —— and not only through the broad PC alliance we are announcing today. As you know， our company is investing heavily to create the computing platform of the future. Our microprocessors and open software technologies underpin the next-generation on demand infrastructure， which will extend from the enterprise to the home to the mobile product to an expanding array of connected devices. In just the past couple of weeks， we've made significant announcements about advanced microprocessors we are developing in partnership with some of the world's leading consumer electronics companies， as well as initiatives to broaden adoption and support for these open platforms.

　　We are excited by today's announcement and how it further positions IBM for leadership in the days and years ahead. ()