"The company is strongly run on process, so the process won't change," Foster said.

If anything, Rometty may be better than Palmisano at engaging customers, because she has a reputation for making customers feel involved, Foster said.

Under Palmisano, who became CEO in 2002 and chairman of the board in 2003, IBM sold its PC business to Lenovo, sharpened its focus on services and expanded into emerging markets including China, India, Brazil and Russia.

IBM, with its broad portfolio of corporate-focused products, is a major barometer of enterprise IT.