Fujitsu re-org sparks alphabet soup splatter: GSBG splits into GTSBG and GBSBG

Japanese IT services giant Fujitsu last week announced a re-org, and The Register has mostly figured out what's afoot.

The conglomerate's announcement stated its "existing Global Solutions Business Group will be reorganized into two separate business groups: the Global Technology Solutions Business Group and Global Business Solutions Business Group."

What's the difference between a Global Technology Solutions Business Group (GTSBG) and Global Business Solutions Business Group (GBSBG)? We're glad you asked.

GTSBG is – surprise – about the tech. We're told the group will "be responsible for formulating and executing business strategies for infrastructure services and global delivery, mainly in the Horizontal Key Focus Areas under Uvance (Business Applications, Digital Shifts, Hybrid IT)."

So making software and hardware work together.

GBSBG has the word "business" in its name – not once but indeed twice – so you can probably tell that it means business. We're informed it "will be responsible for formulating and executing application services, mainly in the Vertical Key Focus Areas under Uvance (Sustainable Manufacturing, Trusted Society, Consumer Experience, and Healthy Living)."

Those of you who can tolerate the kind of corp-speak we quoted above will have noted that Uvance is mentioned twice. It's the brand that Fujitsu launched in 2021 to pursue seven key focus areas – all mentioned above.

Back in 2021 Fujitsu believed it could chase those seven areas with just a Global Solutions Business Group, plus various satellite companies that had little to do with Uvance.

Now it clearly thinks Uvance needs one entity for the techie bits and another for the consulting bits.

We asked why the change was made and got more corp-speak: "As our Fujitsu Uvance business shifts from the start-up phase to the expansion phase, we aim to accelerate management decision-making under the new organizational framework and provide our customers with a greater sense of speed in delivering solutions."

Other questions we put to the company – how GTSBG and GBSBG will interact, how many people are in each group, and what the changes will mean for Fujitsu customers – were not answered.

But we were told the change will "ensure we remain competitive and able to adapt quickly to address evolving customer and societal needs, shifting away from a business model in which we're purely a conventional provider of IT products and services."

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The re-org was accompanied by the creation of two senior roles: a chief revenue officer to "formulate and execute strategies to maximize profits from a global perspective" and a chief portfolio officer "to formulate and implement a portfolio strategy for optimal allocation and management of resources, selecting and concentrating on service and products from a group-wide perspective."

That job description could explain why Fujitsu can't tell us how many people are in each of its new groups.

We also asked whether other corporate structures were considered, and why this one was chosen. Again, we received no answer.

Nor is it clear how this re-org and Scrabble frenzy relates to Fujitsu's plan for substantial acquisitions in coming years.

One more thing: Fujitsu on Monday announced a "Web3 Acceleration Platform" comprising a "developmental environment as well as various service APIs based on blockchain and high-performance computing technologies." But the company didn't announce whether it belongs in the GTSBG and GBSBG. Or a gasbag, like so much of Web3. ®