IBM and Microsoft: Attack By Proxy
During the 1990s, as Microsoft grew into a software mega-giant, IBM recognized it as a strategic threat. IBM was determined to keep Microsoft from becoming a direct competitor in its core strategic business, complex big-ticket technology solutions. IBM decided to attack Microsoft's strength, Windows. By keeping Microsoft pinned down defending Windows, IBM would cause Microsoft to use resources that might otherwise go into seriously competing in the complex big-ticket technology solution market, where IBM must defend its position at all costs.
While IBM competes with Microsoft on many fronts, like the Notes versus Exchange competition, here we examine only its direct strategic attacks on Windows.
The OS/2 debacle was the first attempt at this. OS/2 was still around, though on life support, and all IBM’s after the joint development relationship with Microsoft collapsed. So IBM threw OS/2 at Windows ("a better Windows than Windows"). But Microsoft Windows crushed OS/2, which led IBM to realize this was not the sort of market it really wanted to be in, a decision that led to pulling the plug on OS/2 and, ultimately, exiting the PC business entirely with the Lenovo deal.
The next attempt to implement the "attack Windows" strategy was much more sophisticated. IBM adopted the most clever though difficult to execute stratagem of them all, attack by proxy. In attack by proxy, you get another company to attack your competitor's strength. The trick here is to assure the surrogate has staying power and the resources and focus to mount an effective, sustained attack. This is not an easy thing to pull off, but is brilliant when it works. How did IBM do this? IBM fell in love with Linux.
There certainly were other factors behind IBM’s adoption of Linux. There are always several reasons behind the choice of how to implement a strategy and we all know that all slides (does IBM still call them foils?) must have three bullets. Regardless, IBM jumped aboard the open source Linux bandwagon, arguably assuring Linux its current level of success through its direct and indirect support. Linux is giving Microsoft fits competing with Windows on the server side and in small devices. The Microsoft brain trust is haunted by the prospect of someone coming along with the right formula for wrapping the necessary software and services around Linux to make it a true Windows desktop competitor. And the success of Linux has spurred on all sorts of other open source efforts across the spectrum of Microsoft’s product lines.
IBM has succeeded brilliantly in attacking Windows by proxy with Linux. This has vastly reduced Microsoft’s likelihood of making the necessary commitment of resources to effectively enter the complex big-ticket technology solution business. The bonus is that IBM has gotten many other benefits from its Linux efforts, but that is the topic for another discussion.
Copyright © 2006 Philip Bookman
Technorati: IBM Microsoft
While IBM competes with Microsoft on many fronts, like the Notes versus Exchange competition, here we examine only its direct strategic attacks on Windows.
The OS/2 debacle was the first attempt at this. OS/2 was still around, though on life support, and all IBM’s after the joint development relationship with Microsoft collapsed. So IBM threw OS/2 at Windows ("a better Windows than Windows"). But Microsoft Windows crushed OS/2, which led IBM to realize this was not the sort of market it really wanted to be in, a decision that led to pulling the plug on OS/2 and, ultimately, exiting the PC business entirely with the Lenovo deal.
The next attempt to implement the "attack Windows" strategy was much more sophisticated. IBM adopted the most clever though difficult to execute stratagem of them all, attack by proxy. In attack by proxy, you get another company to attack your competitor's strength. The trick here is to assure the surrogate has staying power and the resources and focus to mount an effective, sustained attack. This is not an easy thing to pull off, but is brilliant when it works. How did IBM do this? IBM fell in love with Linux.
There certainly were other factors behind IBM’s adoption of Linux. There are always several reasons behind the choice of how to implement a strategy and we all know that all slides (does IBM still call them foils?) must have three bullets. Regardless, IBM jumped aboard the open source Linux bandwagon, arguably assuring Linux its current level of success through its direct and indirect support. Linux is giving Microsoft fits competing with Windows on the server side and in small devices. The Microsoft brain trust is haunted by the prospect of someone coming along with the right formula for wrapping the necessary software and services around Linux to make it a true Windows desktop competitor. And the success of Linux has spurred on all sorts of other open source efforts across the spectrum of Microsoft’s product lines.
IBM has succeeded brilliantly in attacking Windows by proxy with Linux. This has vastly reduced Microsoft’s likelihood of making the necessary commitment of resources to effectively enter the complex big-ticket technology solution business. The bonus is that IBM has gotten many other benefits from its Linux efforts, but that is the topic for another discussion.
Copyright © 2006 Philip Bookman
Technorati: IBM Microsoft
Labels: software strategy
posted by Phil Bookman at 4:52 PM
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