ZDNet reports how IBM has been using open source as a “deadly weapon,” the result of which is massive amounts of open source code made available to the community. “IBM officials speak fondly of an attitude adjustment that has changed Big Blue into a much more customer-focused company. They describe an altruistic metamorphosis that benefits end users who will settle for nothing less than interoperability and support of open standards.”
“Linux does three things for IBM. First, Linux presents IBM with an opportunity to offer buyers a reliable, scalable, and relatively secure Intel-based alternative to the server versions of Microsoft's Windows. While IBM itself doesn't offer a Linux distribution (SuSE and Red Hat do that), it no doubt sees Linux' potential to reduce the company's dependency on Microsoft for sales of Intel-based servers. Second, Linux turns a high-end Intel-based server such as what IBM introduced at CeBit into a low-cost alternative to Sun's low-end servers. Third, Linux creates a migration path for IBM's customers to easily move off the Intel platform and onto any of IBM's bigger iron. Linux is now available on just about all of IBM's systems, right up to the mainframes. If customers running Linux-based, back-office applications like Oracle 9i or IBM Lotus Domino server want the reliability and performance advantages of a mainframe without the pain of an operating system lobotomy, IBM can give it to them. “