We have seen several comments about Systems BU reorganization at the end of the month with layoffs included. Based on how fast Arvin wants to realign IBM and how it appears to be going in stages that would make sense that it would be next; however, ....
This website has a mix of false rumors and actual leaks. If the people mentioning Systems knows something can you provide additional details and also let us know if its a rumor or an actual leak since there is a big difference.
I have been convinced for months maybe even couple years by now lack of interest in Systems going to be BIG restructuring like sell-off or purge. Never heard Arvin even mention a word about Systems brand product in his statements to media / press....like we don't even exist. Same with Ginny.
Mate, the larger RA is coming by Jan 31 alongside a restructuring of IBM. Multiple sources confirmed. It’s not over.
has anyone been let go in any areas of storage sales yet? I know disgruntled reps have left of their own accord for a few years now, which is normal, but there's still a number of folk who have been around for a while (perhaps too long), especially in management roles, that aren't respected. Again you have to wonder why these people haven't left for greener pastures
How long will you live your life worrying about being layed off by IBM. Surely the associated stress and anxiety will consume you. How about taking control of your own destiny and plan your life/career instead of IBM doing it for you? Do you believe IBM cares as much about you as you yourself?
You have to weigh your current situation against what the future holds. Maybe you can afford to play the lottery, to wait for the axe to fall and deal with the ensuing consequences. If not, then don’t be complacent. Take matters into your own hands - while you still have the cushion of a salary.
IBM is no longer a career, it’s a job. The fact that you have to ask implies you are worried, so do something about it and look for options.
If IBM moves away from mainframes, they're as good as dead!
They need the consistent revenues from mainframes but more importantly the locked in customers are the ones they're hoping to get for "hybrid cloud" or Financial cloud. The top 500/1000 accounts they're focusing on are those big banks and others who are mainframe customers.
They might separate power and storage from systems though. Lot of power execs and architects have already left.
If HW sales are empty calories (low to no profit) then IBM will abandon them while exploiting the SW side of the house. They have proved that via selling Intel to Lenovo. I would speculate that Power, small mainframe, and Storage are empty calories, and that IBM is moving their engagement model to a model that exploits each products profit center (SAAS and PAAS models come to mind). Does that mean IBM is abandoning those markets? NOPE, but it does mean IBM is looking for partnerships that spread the costs of engaging those customers with partners who already have invested in direct sales/marketing and drive large component buys. The large Intel assemblers are the most likely target engagement markets for IBM. DELL, Lenovo, Cisco, and supermicro come to mind. Will it happen? Who knows, but it sure makes sense for some of these assemblers to partner with IBM as IBM drives customers, Patents, Lab expertise,, and guaranteed IBM Cloud. The real question is will IBM abandon 5-6 billion in HW revenue to dump all of the HW investment costs, PLUS dump some of the SW profits to abandon sales/marketing engagement models. My guess is they will. As I said above IBM has already proved they will exit commodity markets.
@1pmt - do you have any more info about the TTR? I probably missed it when it was first announced, but if its not too late to get on board, I've been thinking about retiring early in recent months.
@1hon: Here's the Systems dilemma for IBM. The BU has hw and sw.
The hw generates lots of revenue but not much profit, and what profit there is comes mostly from mainframe customers. So on the one hand, IBM needs the revenue, but on the other hand the "return on capital invested" is very poor. Also there is nothing about that hw that in any way says "hybrid cloud", which is supposed to be the strategy - except that in many cases, mainframe users are the same customers that IBM wants to capture as they move to cloud, e.g. big banks and brokerages. So somehow IBM has to justify saying "hybrid cloud" while selling on-prem mainframes...
On the software side, there are some offerings that have a plausible hybrid cloud story, like Scale, and decent profitability, but they are not $B revenue monsters like hw is. If IBM were truly committed to the hybrid cloud direction it would invest in those pieces and try to accelerate cloud adoption, but its really hard to do that inside Systems because every software-on-cloud sale is viewed as a lost hw opportunity!
Basically, this kind of mess is what happens when you say you want one thing (hybrid cloud) but you reward something else entirely (hw revenue).
I was RA'd just a few days ago in Sales role & top performer. One reason given was that I was in "Systems". I was not at all surprised I got RA'd
IBM doesn’t want to be in the HW business anymore due to scaling issues and very high development costs.. Power, storage, and Mainframe are Niche products in a cloud marketplace. Redhat’s stack is HW agnostic. IBM is pursuing a HW partnership that advantages both themselves (Niche services skills and Niche IP), and the HW manufacturer (for having scale and for sharing the Niche product line development costs).
all of Systems was offered a 3 year TTR (Transition To Retirement) effective 6/30/18-6/30-2021. I am not sure how many accepted/were approved, but this was a systematic wind down of Systems BU resources (esp mainfrsme hw and sw). I was not in Systems but only saw this as the internal entries were re-issued to changed one of the exec sponsors names (he retired mid 2020 .. probably with good foresight.
I asked my peers in z hardware and software sales if they were aware of this (they were not). Sales of Systems products is not part of Systems BU.
I dont think the mainframe customers were made aware of this "decommitment to Systems" at the time.
So from my POV, Systems BU does likely not need an extensive RA at this point, unless the TTR did not achieve target reductions.
It's mostly conjecture on this site...I understand the apprehension but really it's anyone's guess...just plan for the worst and hope for the best...and above all be realistic given Arvind's stated intentions for the 'long term'...meaning 2021. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Lesson to not overextend and save your funds for downturns like this one; must be a lifelong habit.
Mostly conjecture on this site...understand the apprehension but really anyone's guess...just plan for the worst and hope for the best...and above all be realistic given Arvind's stated intentions for the 'long term'...meaning 2021. When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Lesson to not overextend and save your funds for downturns like this one; must be a lifelong habit.
Wasnt systems affected this week?