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IBM Doubles Rewards For Ditching Sun

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the go-for-the-jugular dept.

Taking advantage of the uncertainty surrounding Oracle's acquisition of Sun, IBM has doubled the monetary incentives they are offering to ditch Sun gear. Offering $8,000 in software or services for every Sun Sparc processor ditched for an IBM Power server, the program seems to be paying off. IBM has helped 1,640 customers migrate from other manufacturers' hardware over the last year. "The program applies to Sparc-based Sun hardware, such as the Sparc, UltraSparc, and Sparc 64 servers, and also to Fujitsu systems that run on Sparc chips. A customer that moves off a Sparc-powered system running, say, eight processors would be eligible for up to $64,000 worth of rewards."

7 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Most of them... by jellomizer · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I am wondering how many of them would have switched to IBM Anyways?
    Or were going to go off Sun, and they saw the value discount.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Most of them... by p4ul13 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Huh wha? What about that is anti-competitive or monopolistic behavior? If IBM and Sun were the only source of servers out there, then I could understand the anti-trust comment. This is a bit ruthless, but it's completely legal.

      --
      Paul Lenhart writes words!
    2. Re:Most of them... by Burkin · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It is pretty clearly anti-competitive.

      In what way? How does it stifle competition?

      This is the price for one class of people, this other price for a second class that uses a competitor.

      How is that any different than a car dealer who takes a few thousands dollars off the price of a car when you trade in your old car? Is that also anti-competitive?

      As for the legality I would assume it is legal as IBM does not have a monopoly.

      They would have some defense as a benefits consumers argument too.

      How would it be illegal even if they did have a monopoly?

    3. Re:Most of them... by mcrbids · · Score: 4, Insightful

      IBM isn't going to re-sell the Sun hardware. Your car dealership nearly always makes a profit on the trade-in by selling them as used cars through a used car salesman on a lot with a different business name.

      Still, it's not anti competitive. To be more clear: this is a textbook definition of what competitive means.

      --
      I have no problem with your religion until you decide it's reason to deprive others of the truth.
  2. Re:Cheap by blitzkrieg3 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    These are two computer companies trying to make the most of it in tough economic times. They have an obligation with their shareholders to try to make money. Goodwill in the community frankly doesn't matter.

  3. Re:Cheap by Sir_Lewk · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The CDDL is an OSI approved, Free Software, Copyleft license. It may be incompatible with the GPL but I'd hardly cite it as a reason to not like Sun.

    --
    "linux is just DOS with a UNIX like syntax" -- Galactic Dominator (944134)
  4. Taking advantage? Seems more like desperation... by DragonWriter · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Taking advantage of the uncertainty surrounding Oracle's acquisition of Sun, IBM has doubled the monetary incentives they are offering to ditch Sun gear.

    If I have to double the bribe I'm paying to get somebody to abandon a competitor's product from what I was previously offering, that doesn't sound like there is uncertainty in the market that I am taking advantage of, it seems like I've suddenly become desperate that if I don't convince people to leave right now I'm never going to be able to.

    And it makes sense: Oracle with Sun, once it finishes integrating its product lines, is going to have a lot more capacity to compete with IBM in offering complete solutions than pre-Sun Oracle or pre-Oracle Sun on their own could.