By 2015, 50% of IBM’s revenue is expected to come from software. You may not have realized it, but consider all that’s new – cloud, big data, and cognitive computing.
With the acquisition of SoftLayer, IBM will be launching more than a hundred products via cloud in 2014. Rather than focusing on commodity computing and storage, IBM is aiming for cloud services and software.
In addition to the Power Linux server line, IBM is investing $1 billion in new Linux and open source technologies to meet customer demand related to cloud computing and big data.
IBM will be adding KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine) to the Power Linux line in 2014, and that has been confirmed by both Red Hat and SUSE. Besides IBM’s PowerVM, will the offering of KVM erode at VMWare’s share?
I’m wondering about the live application mobility of WPAR (workload partitioning) that currently is only available on AIX for Power boxes, not Linux. IBM has no preference whether AIX or Linux run on partitions on their Power servers and Power VM supports both. Will PowerLinux machines and IBM’s investment have Linux sharing that feature and others such as AIX’s more sophisticated patch management?
IBM has also formed and plans to invest $1 billion in the Watson Business Group to research and deliver cognitive applications and services to market via cloud. What will you do with Watson?