Big Blue’s timing couldn’t be better. With fears mounting that Microsoft
will grow more dominant in the wake of a proposed settlement of the Justice
Department’s antitrust suit, companies may be considering alternatives to
Microsoft’s Windows. Adding fuel to that is the persistent irritation in
Corporate America over pricey licensing fees for operating systems, including
Windows and Solaris by Sun Microsystems.
Linux, on the other hand, is open-source software that is not controlled by
any one company. To boost the Linux movement, IBM is giving away its own
software tools–$40 million worth. IBM hopes that will spark a blizzard of
development around Linux in the same way the free Internet exploded. "Linux
will do for software what the Internet did for networks," maintains IBM
president Samuel Palmisano.
IBM is placing the biggest bet of any computer maker on Linux. This year, Big
Blue will spend $1 billion, or 20% of its research-and-development budget, to
rejigger existing programs or set up new projects around Linux. So far, the $88
billion computer giant has made the software available on all of its servers,
trained 300 consultants to design Linux systems, reworked 2,800 programs created
by other companies, and marshaled 7,000 salespeople to spread the gospel.
"The more we encourage the development of Linux, the more it will drive our
business," says Irving Wladawsky-Berger, who heads IBM’s Linux efforts.
Linux is looked upon to solve some of Big Blue’s long-standing problems.
Unlike Microsoft and Sun Microsystems, IBM doesn’t have one operating system
that runs across all of its machines and throws off juicy profit margins. With
multiple operating systems, it’s costly for IBM to develop and support all
that software. Linux offers a single system that can potentially span all of IBM’s
machines. And, by seeding the market with Linux tools and wooing software
developers, IBM hopes to regain lost market share for low-end servers.
Luring developers to Linux is becoming all the rage. Linux is now the
fastest-growing server operating system. By next year, Linux is expected to
claim 32% of the server market, up from 27% last year, according to market
researcher IDC Corp. Microsoft’s ubiquitous Windows, however, will own 47% of
the market by the end of 2002, up from 41% in 2000. The big loser is Unix, which
is expected to slide to 10% next year from 14% last year.
How will IBM make money on free software? The idea is to use Linux to not
only sell expensive computers but also high-margin software and big-ticket
support and consulting services. Because nearly 60% of IBM’s revenue comes
from software and services, Linux plays into IBM’s business model better than
any other computer maker’s. IBM believes the new sales will greatly exceed any
revenue loss incurred from giving away the Linux operating system. MDS
Proteomics, a Toronto-based drug-research company, bought a Linux supercomputer
from IBM to do complex chemical calculations. MDS CEO Frank Gleeson says 50% of
its multimillion-dollar deal with IBM went toward consulting services and
software, while the rest was spent on hardware and a joint-development effort
with IBM researchers.
Today, Linux machines are IBM’s fastest-growing server segment, generating
about 2.5%, or $350 million, of IBM’s $14 billion server revenue. Next year
Big Blue’s Linux servers could reach $500 million, or 3.5% of server sales.
And that excluding software-and-services fees, makes Linux a $2 billion business
for IBM in 2002. Linux could prove to be a very big investment in the future,
say analysts.
On the surface, those numbers show promise. But IBM hasn’t shined in every
corner of the Linux business. Despite its huge investment in the software, IBM
is only the No. 3 seller of low-end Linux PC servers, with a 15% share, down
from 18% during the first quarter, according to IDC. Compaq Computer was No 1,
with 29% of the market, and Dell Computer was No 2, with a 19% share. Both
companies gained share, while IBM slipped.
IBM’s Irving Wladawsky-Berger, who heads IBM’s Linux efforts, says those
numbers don’t capture the bigger picture. He argues that analysts
underestimate IBM’s overall Linux position because they do not include sales
of mainframes and other high-performance systems. Wladawsky-Berger says IBM’s
PC server market share dipped because the company has never been a leader in
low-end servers, where Compaq and Dell are price leaders. In September, IBM
created a new sales post to focus on boosting low-end Linux servers. IBM plans
to add hundreds of new sales and technical support staff, offer more free
training and rebates to resellers, and to pre-install more Linux software on its
servers. Wladawsky-Berger expects to see market share gains in 2002.
IBM has its work cut out for it. Not every business is smitten with Linux. A
survey of 100 technology managers, by Goldman & Sachs in November found that
65% had no plans to use Linux in 2002. While Linux is often used to run simple
tasks, such as serving Web pages, tech execs say they’re reluctant to use it
for critical jobs, such as processing transactions, because there aren’t
enough corporate applications written for Linux.
Teamwork
To make sure there is plenty of Linux software, IBM has taken out its
checkbook. Some 2,000 IBM programmers have developed Linux versions of IBM’s
software, including its DB2 database program. Software research at IBM now
revolves around Linux: Dozens of projects are in the works, from security
programs that manage access to wireless networks to a joint venture with Citizen
Watch to develop a Linux timepiece. IBM also is pumping up its
sales-and-marketing juggernaut to make the job of running Linux systems a snap.
After a salesperson clinches a Linux deal, consultants swoop in to help set up
Linux systems or fix more serious problems–for a fee, of course.
Linux |
IBM is spending $1 billion to help increase corporate use of the growing open-source operating system. Here’s where the money is going: |
Software 2,000 programmers–the most of any computer company–are developing Linux versions of IBM software, including its WebSphere application server. IBM also has 10 centers around the world to help other software makers rework applications for Linux. |
Computers From tiny Intel-based servers to huge mainframes, IBM has tweaked all the models in its four server families to run Linux. It’s paying off - Bernstein estimates that IBM will sell $350 million worth of Linux computers this year, $500 million worth in 2002. |
Services Big Blue is spending at least $100 million this year to develop training, consulting, and support services for Linux systems. Corporate customers get help on everything from designing Linux systems to online tutorials. |
Sales and Marketing More than 7,000 of IBM’s 30,000-member global salesforce are pitching Linux to customers. And this quarter, one-third of IBM’s TV ads are about Linux. The goal: Establish IBM as the leading Linux company. |
Research Most software research at IBM now revolves around Linux. There are dozens of projects, including software tools to make it easier to write Linux applications. Most of the projects are two to three years from showing up in commercial products. |
Indeed, in the past year, IBM has persuaded big corporations, including oil
giant Royal Dutch/Shell Group and Venezuelan bank Banco Mercantil, to embrace
Linux. In 1999, IBM helped CBS Sportsline move its pga.com golf site from a
Windows system to Linux. The site functioned so well that last year, the
sports-information provider rolled out Linux to the rest of its online
properties, buying 375 servers from IBM to handle the task. Analysts estimate
that Sportsline saves $4 million a year in lower hardware, software, and
maintenance costs. Now, IBM has to prove it can profit from Linux, too.
By Spencer E Ante in New York in BusinessWeek. Copyright 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc