1. IBM: The Original Elephant That Learned to Dance
If Unisys is an interesting case study, IBM is the textbook. Once synonymous with mainframes, Big Blue faced a near-death experience in the early 1990s before Lou Gerstner orchestrated one of the most famous turnarounds in corporate history, shifting
the focus from hardware to integrated services. That transformation narrative continues today. Under current leadership, IBM has doubled down on artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud, most notably with its massive acquisition of Red Hat. It even spun off its managed infrastructure business into a new company (more on that later) to sharpen its focus on higher-growth software and consulting. For students of corporate evolution, watching IBM shed its old skin to compete in the cloud and AI era is required reading.
2. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE): Betting the Farm on 'As-a-Service'
Like Unisys, Hewlett Packard Enterprise is a well-known legacy name trying to forge a new path. After splitting from the PC and printer business (HP Inc.) in 2015, HPE dedicated itself to the enterprise market of servers, storage, and networking. Its big strategic bet, and the parallel to Unisys's services pivot, is HPE GreenLake. GreenLake is an 'as-a-service' model that brings the pay-as-you-go flexibility of the public cloud to a company's own data centers. This allows HPE to move away from purely transactional hardware sales toward more valuable, recurring revenue streams. The central question for HPE is whether this hybrid cloud strategy can win against hyperscale cloud providers and reinvigorate growth. It's a high-stakes reinvention unfolding in real time.
3. Xerox: More Than a Photocopier?
The name Xerox is so iconic it became a verb, but that legacy is also a burden. For years, the company has been trying to convince the world it's more than just a manufacturer of printers and copiers. Its story is one of a persistent, and sometimes difficult, pivot toward digital services and workflow automation. Much like Unisys is moving from hardware maintenance to higher-value digital workplace solutions, Xerox is building out its 'Digital Services' portfolio to help businesses manage information and automate processes. The fascination here lies in the struggle and the ambition. Can a company so deeply associated with a single piece of office hardware successfully redefine itself as a software and services player? Studying Xerox is a lesson in the immense challenge of changing market perception.
4. Kyndryl: The Spin-Off Starting Anew
Kyndryl is what happens after a massive company decides to transform. Spun off from IBM in 2021, Kyndryl is the former managed infrastructure services division, now an independent public company. Its story is compelling because it's a multi-billion dollar 'startup' with a legacy business model, a massive global workforce, and a mandate to modernize. The company's leadership has focused on forging its own path, creating strategic partnerships with tech giants (including competitors of its former parent), and improving profitability by shedding less lucrative contracts. Kyndryl's journey is a direct result of the kind of strategic pivot IBM is making, and it offers a real-time look at whether such a large, established services business can find new growth and a new identity on its own.
5. Leidos: The Government IT Success Story
Part of Unisys's story is its deep entrenchment in the government sector. For a look at what hyper-focused success in that space looks like, study Leidos. Leidos was born from a 2013 split of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), rebranding the technology-focused part of the business. Since then, it has become a powerhouse in defense, intelligence, civil government, and health IT through both organic growth and major acquisitions. While Unisys fights to modernize its offerings and balance its portfolio, Leidos represents a more streamlined narrative of growth and dominance in the high-stakes world of government contracting. It demonstrates how a strategic split, combined with a clear focus on high-tech government solutions, can create a formidable and fascinating market leader.
