Text 1941, 74 rader
Skriven 2005-01-14 17:57:06 av Mike '/m' (1:379/45)
   Kommentar till text 1929 av John Oellrich (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: IBM opens up 500 patents
====================================
From: Mike '/m' <mike@barkto.com>

On Thu, 13 Jan 2005 23:45:42 -0500, "John Oellrich" <john@oellrich.us> wrote:

>Mike,
>
>I think you are seeing IBM as being too "public spirited" in this whole
equation. I guarantee you that IBM did a coast/ benefit analysis here. "Cost?
Negligible." "Benefit, we piss off MS and sell more hardware and services!"


Oh, I agree with you, the tactic fits nicely into IBM's "services, not
software" strategy.  But the public service aspect of it is also nice.  :-)

Here's another article.

http://yahoo.businessweek.com/technology/content/jan2005/tc20050113_2651_tc120.
htm

===
A Way to Hammer at Windows

Although IBM's open-source support is no money-maker, it does serve as a deft
weapon to undermine Microsoft's markets

Big Blue collects about $1 billion a year in licensing fees from its hoard of
40,000 patents. So it came as quite a surprise to some on Jan. 11 when IBM
pledged to make 500 of its software patents, valued at about $10 million,
freely available to open-source software projects such as the Linux operating
system and the Apache Web page server software. Why would IBM (IBM ) allow
others to use its intellectual property free of charge?

In a word: Microsoft (MSFT ). The move is central to IBM's efforts to fend off
Microsoft and its Windows monopoly. While the computing giant will continue to
innovate and gather new patents as aggressively as ever, at the same time it is
stepping up efforts to bolster the world of open-source software. IBM figures
that doing so will give it a leg up in selling the software and services that
work with the open-source programs it helped develop.

And that in turn should help it gain an edge against its Redmond (Wash.)-based
rival. "They're poking their thumb in Microsoft's eye," says Alfred S. Chuang,
chief executive of software maker BEA Systems (BEAS ), a competitor of both
tech giants.

BLUE ECOSYSTEM.  It's striking how different IBM's strategy is from
Microsoft's. Microsoft, which declined to comment, is building a legal team to
enforce intellectual-property claims. In so doing, it hopes to protect its
monopoly: When makers sell PCs and servers loaded with Windows, Microsoft has
the best shot at selling an array of applications.

IBM has a different tack. In a strategy it calls "collaborative innovation," it
shares some of its intellectual property, hoping to bolster open-source
alternatives to Windows, such as Linux. Such programs are shared by thousands
of companies and tens of thousands of programmers.

"It's a blending of both worlds, a balancing of proprietary and open
technologies," says Jim Stallings, IBM's vice-president for standards and
intellectual property. It helps IBM create a non-Microsoft ecosystem. By
selling a server with Linux, IBM boosts chances of selling databases,
application integration software, and services. Big Blue is also creating
"innovation networks," says analyst Navi Radjou of tech market researcher
Forrester Research. "No single company can have all the answers. They can't
rely on themselves for all the innovations. They need partners."

"IP COMMONS."  IBM, not Microsoft, seems to have the wind at its back.
Increasingly, info-tech managers see open-source programs as trusted building
blocks for critical computing systems. Linux and Apache, which serves up Web
pages, are the best-known examples, and both have become market-share leaders.
But companies are also embracing a host of other applications, including
software for managing databases and writing custom programs....
===

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