IBM to buy Red Hat

Chat about Linux in general
Forum rules
Do not post support questions here. Before you post read the forum rules. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 6 months after creation.
User avatar
Fred Barclay
Level 12
Level 12
Posts: 4185
Joined: Sat Sep 13, 2014 11:12 am
Location: USA primarily

IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by Fred Barclay »

Stumbled across this a few moments ago and thought it was interesting. Looks like IBM will be acquiring Red Hat:
https://www.wired.com/story/ibm-buying- ... 4-billion/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/busi ... uting.html
Last edited by LockBot on Wed Dec 28, 2022 7:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Topic automatically closed 6 months after creation. New replies are no longer allowed.
Image
"Once you can accept the universe as matter expanding into nothing that is something, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy."
- Albert Einstein
User avatar
Portreve
Level 13
Level 13
Posts: 4882
Joined: Mon Apr 18, 2011 12:03 am
Location: Within 20,004 km of YOU!
Contact:

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by Portreve »

Fred Barclay wrote: Sun Oct 28, 2018 8:50 pm Stumbled across this a few moments ago and thought it was interesting. Looks like IBM will be acquiring Red Hat:
https://www.wired.com/story/ibm-buying- ... 4-billion/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/busi ... uting.html
This makes me want to buy a Windows Mobile smartphone.

Just kidding. Nothing would ever make me want to do that.

Seriously though, this is actually ok by me. IBM and others have long been good supporters, and IBM is probably as well-positioned as anyone to benefit the community and themselves by doing this. I'm really relieved Microsoft didn't buy them.
Flying this flag in support of freedom 🇺🇦

Recommended keyboard layout: English (intl., with AltGR dead keys)

Podcasts: Linux Unplugged, Destination Linux

Also check out Thor Hartmannsson's Linux Tips YouTube Channel
User avatar
Pierre
Level 21
Level 21
Posts: 13182
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:33 am
Location: Perth, AU.

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by Pierre »

yeah - just saw that too, and one does wonder if this could actually be a bad Idea,
or just another business take-over, as per usual.

the Red Hat, has a good reputation, and is highly regarded amongst Linux Users,
& many would wonder, just how close IBM is to Microsoft, in this matter.

an official announcement:
https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/monument ... nd-red-hat
A monumental day for open source and Red Hat .. ..

How the cloud wars forced IBM to buy Red Hat for $34 billion:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-the-c ... 4-billion/
IBM's purchase of Red Hat is a big bet on the hybrid and private cloud and the ability of Big Blue to manage multiple public cloud providers.
Image
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] - when your problem is solved!
and DO LOOK at those Unanswered Topics - - you may be able to answer some!.
User avatar
jimallyn
Level 19
Level 19
Posts: 9075
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:34 pm
Location: Wenatchee, WA USA

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by jimallyn »

I think that this will be a good thing for Linux and other Open Source software.
“If the government were coming for your TVs and cars, then you'd be upset. But, as it is, they're only coming for your sons.” - Daniel Berrigan
BigEasy
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1282
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:17 am
Location: Chrząszczyżewoszyce, powiat Łękołody

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by BigEasy »

What the news! Well, I would not be surprised if the Canonical will sell themselves to Apple and Debian to Google.
Windows assumes I'm stupid but Linux demands proof of it
User avatar
jimallyn
Level 19
Level 19
Posts: 9075
Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:34 pm
Location: Wenatchee, WA USA

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by jimallyn »

BigEasy wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 2:54 amWell, I would not be surprised if the Canonical will sell themselves to Apple and Debian to Google.
I would be surprised, and if they do that, I will likely start using a Red Hat derivative.
“If the government were coming for your TVs and cars, then you'd be upset. But, as it is, they're only coming for your sons.” - Daniel Berrigan
User avatar
xenopeek
Level 25
Level 25
Posts: 29460
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 3:58 am

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by xenopeek »

Struggling to digest IBM's press release mentioning the word "cloud" 41 times :lol: I mean, that does nothing for us desktop Linux users.

I can't (immediately) name a component IBM develops that is relevant for desktop Linux while Red Hat is a developer and sponsor of developers in that area. On the other hand, IBM's GitHub repository shows them using free software licenses predominantly (Apache-2.0) and they are members of the Linux Foundation and Open Innovation Network. So it's not all bad I suppose.

IBM wrote in their press release that Red Hat will pretty much continue operating as-is:
Upon closing of the acquisition, Red Hat will join IBM’s Hybrid Cloud team as a distinct unit, preserving the independence and neutrality of Red Hat’s open source development heritage and commitment, current product portfolio and go-to-market strategy, and unique development culture. Red Hat will continue to be led by Jim Whitehurst and Red Hat’s current management team. Jim Whitehurst also will join IBM’s senior management team and report to Ginni Rometty. IBM intends to maintain Red Hat’s headquarters, facilities, brands and practices.
Having worked for companies that got acquired I have a hard time believing Red Hat won't be "IBMified" within a few years. From IBM's press release it's clear they care about cloud first and last (and nothing in between).
Image
BigEasy
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1282
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:17 am
Location: Chrząszczyżewoszyce, powiat Łękołody

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by BigEasy »

xenopeek wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:12 am Struggling to digest IBM's press release mentioning the word "cloud" 41 times :lol: I mean, that does nothing for us desktop Linux users.
Two-three years later the question "what is desktop Linux?" will not seem so stupid. Fedora is first in line.
Windows assumes I'm stupid but Linux demands proof of it
bassplayer

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by bassplayer »

xenopeek wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:12 am Struggling to digest IBM's press release mentioning the word "cloud" 41 times :lol: I mean, that does nothing for us desktop Linux users.

I can't (immediately) name a component IBM develops that is relevant for desktop Linux while Red Hat is a developer and sponsor of developers in that area. On the other hand, IBM's GitHub repository shows them using free software licenses predominantly (Apache-2.0) and they are members of the Linux Foundation and Open Innovation Network. So it's not all bad I suppose.

IBM wrote in their press release that Red Hat will pretty much continue operating as-is:
Upon closing of the acquisition, Red Hat will join IBM’s Hybrid Cloud team as a distinct unit, preserving the independence and neutrality of Red Hat’s open source development heritage and commitment, current product portfolio and go-to-market strategy, and unique development culture. Red Hat will continue to be led by Jim Whitehurst and Red Hat’s current management team. Jim Whitehurst also will join IBM’s senior management team and report to Ginni Rometty. IBM intends to maintain Red Hat’s headquarters, facilities, brands and practices.
Having worked for companies that got acquired I have a hard time believing Red Hat won't be "IBMified" within a few years. From IBM's press release it's clear they care about cloud first and last (and nothing in between).
Exactly. IBM just paid a lot of money for a bunch of people that are going to leave very quickly. :mrgreen:
BigEasy
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1282
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:17 am
Location: Chrząszczyżewoszyce, powiat Łękołody

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by BigEasy »

jimallyn wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:10 am
BigEasy wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 2:54 amWell, I would not be surprised if the Canonical will sell themselves to Apple and Debian to Google.
I would be surprised, and if they do that, I will likely start using a Red Hat derivative.
And IBM-PC of course.
Windows assumes I'm stupid but Linux demands proof of it
User avatar
catweazel
Level 19
Level 19
Posts: 9763
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:44 pm
Location: Australian Antarctic Territory

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by catweazel »

jimallyn wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 3:10 am
BigEasy wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 2:54 amWell, I would not be surprised if the Canonical will sell themselves to Apple and Debian to Google.
I would be surprised, and if they do that, I will likely start using a Red Hat derivative.
There is no reason for Google or Apple to buy a linux distribution, but there are reasons I wouldn't be surprised if Canonical did up and sell: https://www.cio.com/article/3181734/lin ... buntu.html
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
michael louwe

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by michael louwe »

Fedora and CentOS are base development OS for Red Hat Inc's commercialized Red Hat Enterprise Linux OS which is trademarked and sold as a support service to businesses/companies/enterprises.

I hope IBM will make CentOS or Fedora user-friendly(= fully GUI-based like Windows and MacOS) to the average users, trademark it, sell it for about US$20 per Retail license and offer Volume License discounts(eg at US$10 per OEM license) to the OEMs. All Linux desktop OS users should then unite behind Fedora/CentOS. Such a move will likely make M$-Windows-10 go the way of the dying Win 10 Mobile or dead Netscape and Nokia/Symbian OS.

IBM should also acquire Codeweavers Inc's Crossover program that runs most Windows software on Linux.
.

P S - Fedora is a rapid Rolling Release that is supported for only about 13 months for each new release. CentOS is derived from non-free Red Hat Ent Linux and is supported for 10 years, like Win 10 Ent LTSC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fedora_(operating_system)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CentOS
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat_Enterprise_Linux
Last edited by michael louwe on Mon Oct 29, 2018 7:07 am, edited 1 time in total.
michael louwe

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by michael louwe »

catweazel wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 4:35 am There is no reason for Google or Apple to buy a linux distribution, but there are reasons I wouldn't be surprised if Canonical did up and sell: https://www.cio.com/article/3181734/lin ... buntu.html
.
Companies have the choice of ...
[1.] paying to run Red Hat Ent Linux and upgrade once every 10 years or less,
[2.] paying to run Ubuntu(Server) and upgrade once every 6 to 10 years or more,
[3.] not paying anything to run Ubuntu(Server) but need to upgrade once every 5 years or less.

Choice [1.] and [2.] are about similar in terms of service/support costs. I think most companies have opted for [3.], especially SMEs or SMBs.

Red Hat Inc has a yearly revenue of nearly US$3 billion whereas Canonical Inc's is US$126 million for 2017. So, Red Hat Inc's business model is superior to that of Canonical Inc. No wonder IBM acquired Red Hat Inc at a big premium, and not Canonical Inc. All those Red Hat Linux employees-developers should be millionaires by now.
BigEasy
Level 6
Level 6
Posts: 1282
Joined: Mon Nov 24, 2014 9:17 am
Location: Chrząszczyżewoszyce, powiat Łękołody

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by BigEasy »

michael louwe wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:23 am I hope IBM will make CentOS or Fedora user-friendly(= fully GUI-based like Windows and MacOS) to the average users, trademark it, sell it for about US$20 per Retail license and offer Volume License discounts(eg at US$10 per OEM license) to the OEMs.
$20 for be sticked to Gnome3?
Windows assumes I'm stupid but Linux demands proof of it
User avatar
catweazel
Level 19
Level 19
Posts: 9763
Joined: Fri Oct 12, 2012 9:44 pm
Location: Australian Antarctic Territory

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by catweazel »

michael louwe wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:23 am All Linux desktop OS users should then unite behind Fedora/CentOS.
<mind image of snow in hell>
"There is, ultimately, only one truth -- cogito, ergo sum -- everything else is an assumption." - Me, my swansong.
altair4
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 11419
Joined: Tue Feb 03, 2009 10:27 am

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by altair4 »

Most companies deployed RedHat servers because they were not from IBM so I don't know what they are going to do with their "No IBM Policy".

Based on what I saw happen to Netezza when IBM bought them most of the RedHat employees will be gone in a couple of years and the cost of support will quadruple. I can't imagine any impact to Desktop Linux since it's irrelevant. No money to be made there. IBM and RedHat already contributed to the Linux kernel so I don't see any change one way or the other there.

For retirement purposes I for one will buy Canonical stock when they decide to go public which I think will now happen a lot sooner than they were planning.
Please add a [SOLVED] at the end of your original subject header if your question has been answered and solved.
michael louwe

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by michael louwe »

BigEasy wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:03 am
michael louwe wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:23 am I hope IBM will make CentOS or Fedora user-friendly(= fully GUI-based like Windows and MacOS) to the average users, trademark it, sell it for about US$20 per Retail license and offer Volume License discounts(eg at US$10 per OEM license) to the OEMs.
$20 for be sticked to Gnome3?
.
No, $20 to stick it to M$-Windows 10, which costs US$199 per Win 10 Pro Retail license.

Doesn't Ubuntu 18.04 also use Gnome3.?
User avatar
MurphCID
Level 15
Level 15
Posts: 5890
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 10:29 pm
Location: Near San Antonio, Texas

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by MurphCID »

Portreve wrote: Sun Oct 28, 2018 9:31 pm
Fred Barclay wrote: Sun Oct 28, 2018 8:50 pm Stumbled across this a few moments ago and thought it was interesting. Looks like IBM will be acquiring Red Hat:
https://www.wired.com/story/ibm-buying- ... 4-billion/
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/28/busi ... uting.html
This makes me want to buy a Windows Mobile smartphone.

Just kidding. Nothing would ever make me want to do that.

Seriously though, this is actually ok by me. IBM and others have long been good supporters, and IBM is probably as well-positioned as anyone to benefit the community and themselves by doing this. I'm really relieved Microsoft didn't buy them.
I had the same thought, of "Oh My G_d! at least Microsoft did not buy them"! Can you imagine how horrible it would have been if MS had gotten control? IBM might actually be good for Linux.
User avatar
MurphCID
Level 15
Level 15
Posts: 5890
Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 10:29 pm
Location: Near San Antonio, Texas

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by MurphCID »

catweazel wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 6:15 am
michael louwe wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 5:23 am All Linux desktop OS users should then unite behind Fedora/CentOS.
<mind image of snow in hell>
LOL! This is good. Could they actually bring out a long term release version like Mint and Ubuntu?
michael louwe

Re: IBM to buy Red Hat

Post by michael louwe »

MurphCID wrote: Mon Oct 29, 2018 7:05 am I had the same thought, of "Oh My G_d! at least Microsoft did not buy them"! Can you imagine how horrible it would have been if MS had gotten control? IBM might actually be good for Linux.
.
IBM had likely outbid M$ to acquire Red Hat Inc because IBM paid a big premium for Red Hat, ie nearly double the listed share price of Red Hat Inc.. Maybe, Google was also involved in the bidding process.
Locked

Return to “Chat about Linux”