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IBM: Linux and open source have changed society

Summary

At LinuxWorld 2002 in New York, IBM manager William M. Zeitler declared that Linux and open source would end the era in which vendors controlled customers through proprietary platforms. Zeitler saw grid computing as the next big open technology. The internet would change from a communication platform into a platform for computing power on demand.

Ideas

  • Open platforms weaken individual vendors’ control over their customers.
  • Grid computing connects computing capacity worldwide via the internet.
  • Computing power is to become available on demand like a utility.

Insights

  • The vision of computing on demand anticipated cloud computing.
  • Large vendors also relied on open source to take platform advantages away from their competitors.

Facts

  • Zeitler was Senior Vice President of the IBM Server Group.
  • IBM linked grid computing with the concept of “e-business on demand”.

References

Critique

  • A vendor’s keynote proclaims openness without mentioning IBM’s own proprietary lines of business.

Remarks

  • Instead of grid computing, centrally operated cloud computing prevailed, with new forms of vendor lock-in.

Recommendations

  • With cloud services too, look for open interfaces and export options.
  • Judge claims of openness by which parts of the offering are actually open.

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