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IBM Overhauls Software Development to Regain Ground in Competitive Market

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

IBM has embarked on a major overhaul of its software-development programs, aiming to reduce the estimated $1 billion it spends annually on developing various software operating systems. The move is part of the company's effort to recover from its lagging position in the client-server computing market, a fast-growing sector. The company's chairman, Louis Gerstner, has identified the failure to adjust to the shift from mainframe business towards client-server computing as the "single most important mistake" IBM has made in the last decade.

Key Takeaways:

  • IBM has overhauled its software-development programs to regain business lost to rivals like Microsoft Corp.
  • The company hopes to reduce its estimated annual spend of $1 billion on developing various software operating systems.
  • The new plan is aimed at recovering from a lagging position in the client-server computing market.
  • IBM has named Peter Schneider as the vice-president responsible for co-ordinating the development of the software initiative, code-named Workplace, and ensuring its adoption across all divisions.
  • Workplace software is designed to enable applications to run on different IBM operating systems and allow easy transitions between operating systems and chips, such as from Intel Corp. microprocessors to PowerPC chips.
  • The Workplace technology will be applied to various IBM operating systems, including OS/2 for personal computers, AIX for workstations, and OS/400 for minicomputers.
  • The initiative aims to reduce the need for outside software developers to make changes to their applications when running on different operating systems.

Statistics:

  • IBM spends an estimated $1 billion annually on developing various software operating systems.
  • The Workplace software initiative aims to enable applications to run on different IBM operating systems.
  • The Workplace technology will be applied to various IBM operating systems, including OS/2, AIX, and OS/400.

Sources:

  • The New York Times Service

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