IBM commits $4bn to growth areas

Big Blue says revenues from "strategic imperatives" such as cloud, big data and security will hit $40bn by 2018

IBM is aiming to haul in $40bn in annual sales from growth hotspots such as cloud, big data and security by 2018.

The tech giant set the target at the firm's annual investor meeting in New York today, saying that the $40bn will come from the "strategic imperatives" - cloud, analytics, mobile, social and security software, and that $4bn in spending is set to shift over to these areas this year, according to Reuters.

While IBM didn't say explicitly where the $4bn will come from, it has sold off a number of units in recent years that may fund the push and Reuters reminds us that Big Blue's CEO, Ginni Rometty, has said she is happy to chop revenue from unprofitable units or "empty calories" where necessary.

The units it has sold off include those serving the low-end server, semiconductor and cash register markets.