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IBM Invests $200M In Linux In Asia-Pacific
Al writes: "Linuxworld Australia is reporting that IBM are set to invest US$200 million over the next four years in the creation of seven Linux developer centres and four Linux competency centres across the region. IBM will deploy Linux experts and all IBM platforms at these centres to liase with software developers, be they established or startups. This will provide a huge boost in the porting and creation of native Linux applications within the region. The article is here."
A million here, a million there, and pretty soon you're talking about some real money. IBM seems to be grinning a big mona-lisa-penguin grin lately, which if nothing else is cool to point out to your boss / I.T. manager come requisition time. To paraphrase, very few people have ever gotten fired for buying Big Blue;)
As IBM puts more and more energy into promoting Linux, it will be interesting to watch how much credibility it lends to Linux as a whole.
As someone responsible for a mission critical deployment of many servers, I have been a strong Sun supporter -- not because they had the best bang for the buck, but because they have a true enterprise class operation. I can have Sun on-site in 2 hours if something goes wrong.
When we are faced with a potential Fortune 500 customer's RFP, answering that the platform is completely Sun based has *weight*. As silly as it may be, customers have confidence in buzzwords, and Sun rarely fails to impress. That, combined with 10+ Solaris Exxxx boxes with 300+ days of uptime, makes it hard to look elsewhere.
If IBM can bring the same level of support, "recognition", and stability / quality assurance to the Linux market, there are truly great things ahead for Linux.
I sure hope so, because the technology behind Linux is world class, even if the world doesn't know yet. Much like AMD has done to Intel, another strong platform will increase competition and ultimately make both systems better, to the benefit of all.
-SpookyFish