More Reader Feedback on IBM's System i Advertising Campaign, Linux on i5

Published: November 6, 2006

Gee, Timothy Prickett Morgan, I realize you did not write the articles and maybe you are taking some well deserved time off. But it seems in the interview with Elaine Lennox, all punches were pulled. Why are the reporters pushing advertising so much? IT Jungle has informed its loyal readers that IBM is having trouble getting the QCM to work with i5/OS. What is a better use of a few million dollars? Improving the system technically or advertising? Could Lennox be asked that question? Could she be asked about user-based pricing? Merging the i5 with the p5? Selling the i5 at p5 prices?

The report on Linux on the i5 read like a puff piece to me. What is the advantage to running Linux on the i5 versus the p5? My working assumption is on the p5 Linux would run a lot faster and cost a lot less. Is that wrong? I would like to have seen the numbers.

Your loyal reader,

--Steve

HA!

I was on grand jury duty during COMMON.

Time off. What the hell is that?

Here's what I do with my free time: http://www.hardwarefoundry.com/images/hf-chassis-one/hf-chassis-one.html

As for Linux: Linux on Power is Linux on Power. No difference, i5 or p5. Our goal in that story was merely to tell the tales of people who actually use Linux on the iSeries and System i5. No more, no less.

--TPM

Steve:

We appreciate your e-mail and wish more people took the time to write.

Regarding the interview with Elaine Lennox, we talked with her about advertising and marketing because she is the VP of marketing. That's a high ranking executive position within the System i division, and marketing is a topic that our readers comment upon frequently. It's also a hot button at each COMMON conference, which is where Lennox was interviewed. Technical content continues to make up a huge percentage of The Four Hundred. Advertising and marketing content remains a small portion of what we do.

We will not, however, be asking the VP of marketing technical questions. That's like asking your mechanic for medical advice and then publishing his opinions. And if you were the VP of marketing, would you suggest that the marketing budget be drained and added to the research and development budget? Isn't that what you meant by asking, "What's a better use of a few million dollars?"

Regarding Linux, there's not a lot of interest yet among iSeries users. But there are applications available on Linux that can be useful running on the iSeries. As always, if you can find good applications to help your business, and they run on the iSeries, that's a good thing.

And regarding IT Jungle losing its punch, we can't punch all the time. Sometimes the material just needs to be laid out and if you and others want to throw some punches, that's great. Keep your cards and letters (e-mails, too) coming.

--Dan

Dan:

You're right (to a degree :) ). But what about asking the director of marketing . . .

. . . Could she be asked about user-based pricing? Merging the i5 with the p5? Selling the i5 at p5 prices?. . . "

My opinion on this subject has been formed from reading IT Jungle religiously every Monday morning. It is IT Jungle's recent reporting which has illustrated how overpriced the i5 is. As a reader, I would like you to follow up your publication's own reporting and ask the director of marketing these important pricing questions.

To illustrate the point, market pricing has enabled the p5 line to grow to be a $1 billion revenue per quarter business. One question I would like asked is in 'what if' form: ". . . what if the i5 was market priced, just as the p5 is, would its sales grow to the same $1 billion per quarter level? . . . "

Thanks for listening,

--Steve

Steve:

You might think the VP of marketing System i would have something to say about pricing and merging the i and the p, but they have been trained (or maybe it's a form of Darwinism) to not comment on topics that aren't budget line items. We've gone down those dead-end roads in the past with the marketing execs.

These are the kinds of topics that are usually relegated to off-the-record types of conversations with people other than department heads. This is the kind of stuff TPM is good at, and is one of the reasons people like you read his insights and analysis.

Thanks again for weighing in on this topic. It's important that we hear from folks like you.

--Dan