IBM on a downward spiral?

[John Van Ostrand]

On Sun, 2006-05-14 at 22:58 -0400, Evan Leibovitch wrote:

> I always respect Cringeley, so it was interesting to read in this latest
> column an interesting analysis of Big Blue.
> http://www.pbs.org/cringely/pulpit/pulpit20060511.html


All successful companies go through a stage of complacency. The ones
that don't recognize it soon enough will die quickly. The other thing
that kills companies is when the emotional attachment of the founders
clouds decision making.

Microsoft is one exception to complacency. They are tremendously
successful and have never been complacent. That's why they ended up in
anti-trust. The biggest problem within Microsoft is that the founders
are still in control. Their attachment guides them down a path that
dead-ends, albeit a long way away.

IBM on the other hand, is a company that has been through anti-trust,
decades ago, and are now a collection of diverse and often competing
business units. They have four major hardware platforms that they sell
and support (xSeries (intel/AMD), pSeries (power), zSeries (mainframe),
and iSeries (AS/400)) Each wants your business and each is incented to
get your business. I see IBM as a company that has its own internal
economy. I think this economy makes it less likely to become the
Microsoft of the future.

I also can't help but think about how IBM wants Linux to succeed, even
if it is only to resurrect their lagging platforms or to reduce their
dependence on Microsoft.
-- 
John Van Ostrand
         Net Direct Inc.
 
Chief Technology Officer
564 Weber St. N. Unit 12
   Waterloo, ON N2L 5C6 
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john-Da48MpWaEp0CzWx7n4ubxQ at public.gmane.org
        Ph: 519-883-1172
 ext.5102
Linux Solutions / IBM
Hardware
        Fx: 519-883-8533
 
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