The company seems to be putting its money where its mouth is, investing tens of billions of dollars in cloud, big data, mobile and social technologies. Dupaquier told ITbestofbreed.com that IBM will spend hundreds of millions of dollars on partner evolution over the next two or three years.

CEOs and founders of many midsize partners find it difficult to make the change, but are enthusiastic once they get rolling, Dupaquier said. IBM has even taken to encouraging mergers between partners that have significant overlap, or complementary businesses.

"We're almost running a dating service for BPs," Dupaquier said.

Still, even the most enthusiastic partners have serious questions. Chief among them is how they get financing, and how they pay sales teams accustomed to the fat monthly checks the "hunter" mentality brings on a model that turns them into "farmers."

IBM has taken to making advance payments that carry claw-back agreements to cover the vendor if a contract is canceled.

"The goal is to bring partners with us as we go for value," Dupaquier said. "Partners may have an outdated view of what IBM is. We're hoping to explain this."

Gilbert Buthlay of BEK Inc., said Dupaquier's message was both inspiring and stark. IBM's strategy is exactly right for the times and the market, Buthlay said. "Mobility, security. That's huge for us."

Still, BEK is a small firm, and it's customers don't have the money to support the kind of wholesale transformation Dupaquier described.

"I understand it is very stressful," Dupaquier told conference attendees, "for every business partner I am meeting. You have to make a strategic decision. What do you want your solution to be in the future?"