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Comment by yardie | Hacker News Reader

> Chief Executive Arvind Krishna has been trying to pivot Big Blue from its traditional business of infrastructure and information technology services to the fast-growing cloud-computing market.

Skating to where the puck has been. While other companies are taking a look at how much they are spending on cloud. It's already a commodified market yet IBM sees itself as the one to grow into it.

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But to selectively quote from slightly further down TFA:

> Krishna’s strategy has been focused on bolstering the company’s offerings in hybrid cloud — providing services to customers that run their own data centers in some combination with public cloud

i.e. making it easier to move between data centers and cloud, and back again, so if "companies are taking a look at how much they are spending on cloud." then sounds like IBM are skating towards where the puck is going.

You don't need to be #1 in every category. Having even a 4th place presence can become a 1st place presence if bundled correctly (eg. with IBM Security's managed security portfolio and IBM's professional services team - this gives a much more hand held experience than AWS or GCP, and better for those orgs that are Linux/Unix heavy because Azure won't fit their needs as well from a PS standpoint)

Given their existing relationships they can leverage and the romanticism finally bleeding out of FAANG's reputations, if they can put together a stable, fundamentally capable platform they could definitely grab a chunk.

Toyota has made a multi-decade business model around "skating to where the puck has been". Why can't IBM?

Regulatory stuff doesn't really impact Big Tech's Cloud presence. I've been working closely on JWCC related RFPs and the big boys at the DoD are 100% going to push back significantly if AWS or GCP are even slightly inconvenienced. There's an internal recognition with the DoD and DHS that antitrust in the Cloud Platform Security space could lead to national security issues due to turf battles and mismanaged divestments.

And people on the Hill trying to make their mark are concentrating more on the Ad Business and Marketplace portions - those are easier wins for consumers and (more critically) small mom and pop businesses that love to participate in local politics.

In the early 1980s, DoD pushed back vigorously against the breakup of the Bell System, but the breakup happened anyway. Once the anti-trust suit is in progress, they have little influence over the legal outcome.

JWCC is https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/323937...

https://community.hacc.mil/s/jwcc in case anyone else was also wondering

> Given their existing relationships they can leverage and the romanticism finally bleeding out of FAANG's reputations, if they can put together a stable, fundamentally capable platform they could definitely grab a chunk.

IBM has failed to build a reasonable cloud platform, and not for lack of trying -- for over a decade at this point -- through both internal work and acquisition. Create a cloud.ibm.com account and poke around.

> Toyota has made a multi-decade business model around "skating to where the puck has been". Why can't IBM?

They can, but I'm not sure what you mean by Toyota... they were early on hybrids in general and are definitely the leader in the plug-in hybrid space... what competes with the RAV4 or Prius plugins if you need ICE car range on the weekends and electric for your short commute?

Having never used IBM cloud I have no idea. Just saying it's a possibility. Also just because it sucks doesn't mean businesses won't buy it and force their developers to use it, sadly.

As for Toyota, hybrids were basically their last big innovation. And their plug-in hybrids are iterations on their regular hybrids, not new ground-up designs. Since the late 90s they've been continually behind the curve by intent. Their engines/transmissions/infotainment/interior design is all at least 5 years behind the competition, as are their EVs. They've taken a stance that refinement is more important than bleeding edge innovation, and a good chunk of the market seems to agree (my family included, we drive two Toyotas). The hydrogen stuff is just noise.

While IBM Cloud doesn't provide a good experience for Windows workloads, for UNIX and mainframes, it is quite alright.

> fast-growing cloud-computing market.

Hasn't that already been won by like 3 companies?

The IBM cloud is for IBM customers.

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