One would think that there is nothing left to be said about the purchase of RedHat, but this article certainly had a good view on the situation, as it precisely pinpoints the reasons why this buy was a mistake and gives some excellent advice what can be done at this point to keep this deal from becoming a total disaster.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2018/11/18/three-things-ibm-must-do-to-keep-red-hat-acquisition-from-sinking-the-company/#36ad8ca06d29
Suggesting IBM deprecate WebSphere is far less likely than them selling the IP to HCL. The install base is way too large for that, and it seems the author has no idea just how large the install base is.
So much for the strategic imperative line of c-ap she was trying to sell everyone.
If not the software itself, then, what is IBM getting? The most common answer: Red Hat’s people.
By all accounts, Red Hat has an amazing team, to be sure – but there is one big hole in this theory: people
can walk. And they are already doing so, in droves. Once any golden handcuffs expire, expect to see
more defections.
And if there aren't enough willful defections then don't worry, RA's will take care of the rest.
In general, I agree this is a desperation move by Ginni. She has failed as a CEO and trying to save her legacy and the company. As a retired IBMer, I sincerely hope she turns the company over to the Red Hat CEO and his team and fires the legacy IBM execs. Their arrogance will not allow them to “integrate” with Rad Hat and if allowed to stay, will kill the acquired company. Look at IBM’s history with aquisitions. The facts speak for themselves.
"In my opinion, this acquisition is all about OpenShift, which I believe IBM sees as the key to hybrid IT" ..... But what about ICP? Is ICP doing that badly? (Honest question)