IBM beat industry analysts’ predictions in the first quarter of 2021, with revenues increasing by 0.9%, off the back of 4 consecutive quarters of decline.

Revenues of the first 3 months of 2021 came in at $17.7bn. While being higher than some may have expected, this figure is $4.1bn lower than what IBM reported for the first quarter of 2020.

The recent increase in revenue has been attributed to an increase in client adoption of IBM’s hybrid cloud system in addition to a growth in software and consulting, according to CEO Arvind Krishna. IBM hope this positive start to the year will help pave the way to a full-year revenue growth.