Buck
Storage? I am Storage!
IBM has come out with a new commercial which promotes the virtues of Linux.
LINUX. THE FUTURE IS OPEN.
LINUX. THE FUTURE IS OPEN.
His Name is Linux
- Thread starter Buck
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e_dawg
Storage Freak
I question whether IBM is genuinely interested in open source, or are just co-opting its good name to offer a "superior" alternative. I don't think they quite like Sun, but it remains to be seen what IBM has up their sleeves when it comes time to cash in on their championing of the open source movement. After all, they were the original monopolists before some "silly upstarts" took over.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
IBM isn't the company of the monopoly any more. They haven't been for a long time.
I've worked with/for IBM's service division, and the truth is, that group will work with whatever you put in front of it, as long as you pay your bill.
On the hardware side, IBM's PC servers traditionally ran Netware, NT or SCO Unix. SCO hasn't been a competitive UNIX system for at least six or eight years, but for the fact that a lot of prepackaged turnkey systems were developed for it in the 80s.
Linux comes along, supports SCO binaries (the aforementioned turnkey systems), is free, has a wide base of support (thousands of geeks with Linux exposure that wouldn't know SCO if it hit them over the head)... for the hardware guys, that's GOT to look like a win.
As a software company, the fact that Linux has almost everything that the big boys - Solaris, HPUX and AIX - have (far more than SCO), has open source code so that IBM can pretty easily develop what it doesn't, and the fact that it can be made to work with more-or-less everything IBM sells, from PC Servers to giant mainframes, well, that's got to look like a win, too. Even better, the lion's share of the development costs are done free of charge!
As a service company, we're talking about selling a single platform. IBM's sold single platforms for ages in its mid and high-end products. With Linux, it's single platform all the way from biggest Iron to the leastest workstation. That makes it easier to support, easier to migrate, and easier to scale. What's not to love?
In the end, I think IBM is sincere in adopting Linux. It's a sane thing for IBM to do. IBM has distinctly NOT embraced a single Linux, and it has also distinctly not branded its own. Since we're ~3 years into IBM's Linux marketing, I think it's safe to say that IBM has done the right things so far.
I've worked with/for IBM's service division, and the truth is, that group will work with whatever you put in front of it, as long as you pay your bill.
On the hardware side, IBM's PC servers traditionally ran Netware, NT or SCO Unix. SCO hasn't been a competitive UNIX system for at least six or eight years, but for the fact that a lot of prepackaged turnkey systems were developed for it in the 80s.
Linux comes along, supports SCO binaries (the aforementioned turnkey systems), is free, has a wide base of support (thousands of geeks with Linux exposure that wouldn't know SCO if it hit them over the head)... for the hardware guys, that's GOT to look like a win.
As a software company, the fact that Linux has almost everything that the big boys - Solaris, HPUX and AIX - have (far more than SCO), has open source code so that IBM can pretty easily develop what it doesn't, and the fact that it can be made to work with more-or-less everything IBM sells, from PC Servers to giant mainframes, well, that's got to look like a win, too. Even better, the lion's share of the development costs are done free of charge!
As a service company, we're talking about selling a single platform. IBM's sold single platforms for ages in its mid and high-end products. With Linux, it's single platform all the way from biggest Iron to the leastest workstation. That makes it easier to support, easier to migrate, and easier to scale. What's not to love?
In the end, I think IBM is sincere in adopting Linux. It's a sane thing for IBM to do. IBM has distinctly NOT embraced a single Linux, and it has also distinctly not branded its own. Since we're ~3 years into IBM's Linux marketing, I think it's safe to say that IBM has done the right things so far.
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
IBM makes the bulk of its profit from services, not hardware, not applications, and not operating systems. Understand that IT services in the form of consulting and operations support can easily be grown by seeding change. The 'big 5' have been doing it for ages. Tell a client what they have ain't good enough and that you've got just what they need to gain an advantage over their competitors. Help them implement it. Five years later, start over again with some other tech being the focus.
IBM: Change from that HPUX platform tp Linux. You'll save gobs o' dollars, improve customer service, and make a better mouse trap. We'd prefer you run Linux on IBM hardware but we'll help you implement and maintain on any platform.
CIO: I'll get a better return on my stock options? Where do I sign?
Lots of consulting $$$$ later ...
IBM: Change from that Linux platform to OS-with-current-name-recognition. You'll save gobs o' dollars, etc.
Seriously, this is about driving change in the industry and IBM is no more guilty than anyone else. Look at the services $ around every new MS OS. Look at changes brought as the result of EDS recommendations. Sun, HP, and many app vendors make their living this way.
Face it, we'd all still be pretty productive on XT-class boxes using WordStar 3.3 on DOS 2.11 with 1-2-3 2.x for a spreadsheet with a network running over Arcnet. In the last 20 years, what has actually improved our efficiency within business applications? GUIs just made the case for buying more hardware; very few people use any multitasking at all and most GUIs are not as intuitive as we are led to believe. Linux more reliable than Windows? Sure, but then so was DOS.
IBM: Change from that HPUX platform tp Linux. You'll save gobs o' dollars, improve customer service, and make a better mouse trap. We'd prefer you run Linux on IBM hardware but we'll help you implement and maintain on any platform.
CIO: I'll get a better return on my stock options? Where do I sign?
Lots of consulting $$$$ later ...
IBM: Change from that Linux platform to OS-with-current-name-recognition. You'll save gobs o' dollars, etc.
Seriously, this is about driving change in the industry and IBM is no more guilty than anyone else. Look at the services $ around every new MS OS. Look at changes brought as the result of EDS recommendations. Sun, HP, and many app vendors make their living this way.
Face it, we'd all still be pretty productive on XT-class boxes using WordStar 3.3 on DOS 2.11 with 1-2-3 2.x for a spreadsheet with a network running over Arcnet. In the last 20 years, what has actually improved our efficiency within business applications? GUIs just made the case for buying more hardware; very few people use any multitasking at all and most GUIs are not as intuitive as we are led to believe. Linux more reliable than Windows? Sure, but then so was DOS.
e_dawg
Storage Freak
Indeed, I wasn't saying IBM was going to monopolize Linux as a proprietary product like Windows/Office or Java, but I think there is something beyond Merc's illustration of Linux's elegance as a technical solution for IBM, or Fushigi's description of IBM's evolution as a consulting firm.
Yes, that's most of it in a nutshell -- I am familiar with IBM and the IT services business model as I used to work for HP Services -- but there's more... I just can't put my finger on it yet. After all, locking customers in is Business 101 whether it's cross-selling services or increasing platform switching costs...
Yes, that's most of it in a nutshell -- I am familiar with IBM and the IT services business model as I used to work for HP Services -- but there's more... I just can't put my finger on it yet. After all, locking customers in is Business 101 whether it's cross-selling services or increasing platform switching costs...
Fushigi
Storage Is My Life
I was at IBM's Rochester, Minnesota plant yesterday for an Executive Briefing. To believe their spin, IBM is positioning themselves to have the solutions that customers will want/need vs. the competitors offerings products. IOW it comes down to IBM wanting to have the products and services that will be needed by their customers. Compare that to other vendors (Sun, HP, etc.) who are coming up with products and selling them as solutions.
Our Business Partner (VAR) sums it up as this: IBM has a plan for where computing is headed for the next 25 years. They're working towards that future. On Demand, Grid computing, and the various services are the building blocks.
I will say that IBM continues to impress with their technology development. They continue to spend on R&D to the tune of billions a year and continue to receive more patents than anyone else. More important, they realize the value of the research - they documented over $11 billion in revenue directly attributed to their patents and licensing.
The Exec Briefings are cool. Since it across the street from the plant, if there was a question the presenters didn't know, they could call the developers over. Pretty cool that they'd do that for the small group of only about 8 customers who were there for the briefing.
Some interesting stats about current iSeries (AS/400) systems: The main backplane switch (like the PC chipset) handles up to 55GB/sec (bytes, not bits). A single box can run up to 140 OS images; 108 Windows, 32 OS/400 and/or Linux. The next hardware release, which will use Power5s, raises the 32 to 254 and adds AIX support. Of course all the non-Windows stuff is fully 64-bit. Partition management will migrate into the system microcode so a managing partition will no longer be necessary. We can already dynamically move CPU from partition to partition. This will likely be extended to RAM & disk. There's even a wireless interface to allow systems management through the average cel phone.
Our Business Partner (VAR) sums it up as this: IBM has a plan for where computing is headed for the next 25 years. They're working towards that future. On Demand, Grid computing, and the various services are the building blocks.
I will say that IBM continues to impress with their technology development. They continue to spend on R&D to the tune of billions a year and continue to receive more patents than anyone else. More important, they realize the value of the research - they documented over $11 billion in revenue directly attributed to their patents and licensing.
The Exec Briefings are cool. Since it across the street from the plant, if there was a question the presenters didn't know, they could call the developers over. Pretty cool that they'd do that for the small group of only about 8 customers who were there for the briefing.
Some interesting stats about current iSeries (AS/400) systems: The main backplane switch (like the PC chipset) handles up to 55GB/sec (bytes, not bits). A single box can run up to 140 OS images; 108 Windows, 32 OS/400 and/or Linux. The next hardware release, which will use Power5s, raises the 32 to 254 and adds AIX support. Of course all the non-Windows stuff is fully 64-bit. Partition management will migrate into the system microcode so a managing partition will no longer be necessary. We can already dynamically move CPU from partition to partition. This will likely be extended to RAM & disk. There's even a wireless interface to allow systems management through the average cel phone.