We've staked out as our business model to operate in those areas of the IT industry where research can make a difference, which is pretty nice for the research team.
IBM's business model is to operate in the high value segment of the information technology market. High value means high margins, and it means you can get a return on the research and development dollars you spend.
While we do exploratory stuff, we count on the research to help grow the parent. While Bell Labs spent a lot of money, they never really had a strong model on how research impacted the company.