Editor’s note: Cassandra Mooshian is a Senior Analyst for Technology Business Research

HAMPTON, N.H. – IBM closed out the year on a high note, finally reaching corporate growth, driven in large part by the cloud business.

During IBM’s (NYSE: IBM) 4Q17 earnings call on Thursday the company reported quarterly revenue of $22.5 billion, up 3.6% from the year-ago quarter. This is the first quarter of growth after a streak of 22 consecutive quarters of year-to-year top-line decline. Cloud is a particular bright spot for IBM, with total cloud revenue growth reportedly over 30% over the same compare, reaching $5.5 billion.

Within the cloud business, IBM reported an “as a Service” run rate of $10.3 billion, which grew 20% from 4Q16. Foundational cloud revenue, which includes both services and cloud hardware and software building blocks, was up nearly 43% over the same compare, driven by seasonally strong hardware and software sales as well as the company’s z14 rollout.

IBM’s software revenue of $7.3 billion was up 1.6% from 4Q16, driven by continued growth in cloud- and analytics-based solutions, particularly the Watson portfolio and seasonally strong transactional revenue growth. Among the software segments, IBM reported a slight decline in Integration Software as success in sales into hybrid environments was not enough to offset declines in legacy integration software.

All other software segments, including both of its Cognitive Solutions segments, Solutions Software and Transaction Processing Software, grew from the year-ago quarter. Security software is a noteworthy growth driver particularly as customers look to comply with General Data Protection Regulations in Europe, benefitting the Cognitive Solutions segment.