Posted by: Anonymous Coward
on December 05, 2004 11:53 AM
I doubt that. Yes, IBM makes more money from services -- it's been that way for many years. But IBM also knows that its hardware sales drive most of its services revenues.
It is well worth noting that IBM has been chafing under Microsoft's rule at least since the OS/2 mess. Since then, IBM has been looking for a great big stick to clobber MS with. Here is what they seem to be looking for 1) some way to regain significant control in the PC marketplace. (as long as MS and Intel control the comodity end of things, IBM is out of luck) 2) some way to make a service oriented computer model work for hardware. (their original model was hardware leasing, and they want it back-its more profitable than selling hardware)
IBM has a specific plan for accomplishing just these tasks. They announced a couple of years ago that systems based on the power 6 server series chips will be price competitive with servers based on the intel x86 series chips. This "cell" processor sounds to me like a gutted power 6 just like the G5 is a gutted power 4(if I remember right).
The other part of that plan has to do with its support of linux. Played right this can move MS into a position of no importance(though not necessarily insignificant).
All in all, each of these moves is specifically to unseat vendors who can and do keep IBM captive, and to recreate the original pure services model, which did include hardware, but in a service oriented fashion.
If you think about what I have said, and you find that there is any truth to it, you should realize that over the next few years we should see prices for IBM computer equipment dropping -- and, indeed that has begun happening, just about on the schedule that IBM announced 2 years ago. (they can't move too fast or their server sales channels that account for some 3/4 of their sales won't be able to stay in business.) BUT, if IBM really does regain the control it had, I would not be surprised to see the old predatory, high priced tactics return. The best scenario I can forsee for the consumer would be if IBM succedes well enough to make Intel and MS compatibility pointless, and there are 2 or 3 other major vendors who are also competing for the consumer and business markets. Preferrably if there are at least 2 or 3 other common processors besides Power, x86 and Itanium.
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Re:All hardware gone?
Posted by: Anonymous Coward on December 05, 2004 11:53 AMIt is well worth noting that IBM has been chafing under Microsoft's rule at least since the OS/2 mess. Since then, IBM has been looking for a great big stick to clobber MS with. Here is what they seem to be looking for
1) some way to regain significant control in the PC marketplace. (as long as MS and Intel control the comodity end of things, IBM is out of luck)
2) some way to make a service oriented computer model work for hardware. (their original model was hardware leasing, and they want it back-its more profitable than selling hardware)
IBM has a specific plan for accomplishing just these tasks. They announced a couple of years ago that systems based on the power 6 server series chips will be price competitive with servers based on the intel x86 series chips. This "cell" processor sounds to me like a gutted power 6 just like the G5 is a gutted power 4(if I remember right).
The other part of that plan has to do with its support of linux. Played right this can move MS into a position of no importance(though not necessarily insignificant).
All in all, each of these moves is specifically to unseat vendors who can and do keep IBM captive, and to recreate the original pure services model, which did include hardware, but in a service oriented fashion.
If you think about what I have said, and you find that there is any truth to it, you should realize that over the next few years we should see prices for IBM computer equipment dropping -- and, indeed that has begun happening, just about on the schedule that IBM announced 2 years ago. (they can't move too fast or their server sales channels that account for some 3/4 of their sales won't be able to stay in business.) BUT, if IBM really does regain the control it had, I would not be surprised to see the old predatory, high priced tactics return. The best scenario I can forsee for the consumer would be if IBM succedes well enough to make Intel and MS compatibility pointless, and there are 2 or 3 other major vendors who are also competing for the consumer and business markets. Preferrably if there are at least 2 or 3 other common processors besides Power, x86 and Itanium.
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