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‘Diversity’ seems to be the big buzzword in technology today, with companies looking to get into various industries to hedge their financial bets in case one part of their company goes under. It makes good financial sense, but one writer sees a new opportunity for a major player, and that move may have big repercussions throughout the industry.

“Alpha Max”, a columnist for online tech site SeekingAlpha.com, has a new posting out where he looks at IBM (News - Alert) and the telecom industry. It’s not as far-fetched as you might think.

“In a recent development, IBM is taking charge of AT&T (News - Alert)'s cloud-based managed hosting and application services business,” ‘Max’ writes. “The assets associated with the services will be included in IBM's cloud portfolio. This is in line with IBM's telecom strategy.

He then goes on to quote Philip Guido, IBM’s GM of Global Technology (News - Alert) Services for North America: “Today's announcement represents an expansion of our strategic relationship with AT&T and continuing collaboration to deliver new, innovative solutions,” Guido noted. “Working with AT&T, we will deliver a robust set of IBM Cloud and managed services that can continuously evolve to meet clients' business objectives.”

It seems that telecom operators are expanding their focus on cloud, analytics and mobility. “For IBM this is a tremendous growth opportunity with its solution labs, research labs and innovation centers,” Max says.

He writes that the telecom industry is seeing a host of challenges, such as competitive pressure, mature markets, adapting to rapid technological changes and proliferation of product offerings. “To cope with the situation, major operators are restructuring their business by bringing a meaningful shift in their operations. The shift primarily involves sharing similar tasks and selling data centers. This is what AT&T is also doing.”

By joining forces with IBM, there is a powerful synergy that has a good chance of building a strong presence in the marketplace.

To see more of what “Alpha Max” has to say on the issue, click HERE for his full blog post. It’s worth a few minutes of your day.