Lenovo and IBM x86: what to expect in the near future?
Lenovo’s purchase of a part of the IBM server division has become one of the most high-profile news on the IT market lately. Well, for us this is the number one event in 2015. As promised earlier, we are in a hurry to share all the relevant information - under the cut there is a FAQ with answers to your questions .
IBM’s x86 server business is not Lenovo's first major purchase. This is part of our global strategy, which is very transparent: we consistently achieve goals, strengthening the brand and making it more and more global. For example, recall the year 2011, when the task was to increase its presence in Western European retail: then Medion was bought. It took to strengthen the direction of smartphones - we have a deal with Motorola. The story with the same IBM and ThinkPad laptops everyone, of course, also knows.
But back to the main topic. Together with a part of IBM's x86 server business, Lenovo has many new employees. IBM specialists immediately received a proposal to move to work with us while maintaining their positions and salaries. As a result, the Lenovo team has increased by 6,500 people. We carefully took part of the IBM server division and integrated it into Lenovo with a minimum of changes.
')
We know perfectly well that it takes time to implement projects on server hardware. A lot of time. This is a long-term planning and careful calculations by the clients, so we simply have no right to take IBM's skills and immediately begin to do everything differently.
In this regard, our position is as follows: no abrupt changes, so as not to violate the plans of customers. That is why two lines of servers Lenovo ThinkServer and System x will go in the product portfolio in parallel until the beginning of 2016.
It will be possible to talk about real changes only after 9 months, but we are not planning to keep quiet all this time. We will definitely share our plans to create a single, balanced line of servers from basic to senior level. This is exactly the brand enhancement mentioned above: many of our customers were very enthusiastic about the news about the expansion of the server business. Lenovo received a valuable opportunity to work with customers who previously could not cooperate with us due to the lack of a wide range - we could only offer entry-level servers. Now, Lenovo has a complete portfolio of server hardware, which significantly increases the competitiveness of the brand. The indicator of the share of the server hardware market is also interesting here: according to IDC, after a deal with IBM, Lenovo takes 13% on it.
By the way, the purchase of a part of IBM’s business is not only directly the servers and employees in R & D (which is already a lot), but also sales. Those people who were selling IBM servers around the world also became part of our team. For example, in Russia and the CIS alone, there are more than 60 people with a huge amount of established connections. It turns out that nothing changes for our customers - they just continue to work with the same sales managers. For us, these links are very important. Well, we can say that the integration process is fast and efficient. At least because, for example, that the channel of sales of the first level at Lenovo and IBM substantially coincides.
In this case, if we talk about the business of IBM, it was previously managed globally - at the head office level in the EMEA region. We are going to transfer all processes to the local level in order to more quickly respond to changing requests from our customers.
Many are probably concerned about the question of how the transaction will affect the cost of products. The answer is: market share is an important indicator for Lenovo, so we will focus on aggressive pricing. You can even talk about a potential reduction in prices, but this will in no way be achieved by reducing quality. We have many other effective levers: the desire and ability to plan, an excellent logistics network and, of course, long-standing partnerships with component manufacturers. The latter allows you to influence prices due to very serious volumes of components that we order.
And finally, the question of service. It's all quite simple: over the next five years, under a global contract, IBM will provide service support for all Lenovo products. This also applies to previously sold System x, and ThinkServer, and those devices that we will release in the future. It turns out that here our partners and customers will not feel any negative changes. Worse will not be accurate, while we have thoughts about how to modify and improve the service.
And finally, as they say, one more thing . Buying part of the IBM server business is not only expanding the product portfolio, a step towards leadership in the server hardware market and a pool of customers that has been forming for many years. This is an infrastructure approach. Judge for yourself: we have smartphones , tablets and computers that are used as a means of accessing the Web. Now we have our own servers of all possible levels in order to provide support for ordinary users and corporate clients with any necessary services. And practice shows that an integrated approach is always good.
» Do you plan to create a line of compact budget servers similar to ProLiant MicroServer?
Such servers are in the line of ThinkServer - this is TS140 . The model appeared a little over a year ago and still sells well.
In some completely new directions, we most likely will not go yet. Now there is a task with a new portfolio to strengthen its position in the market. It seems to us that the available products are enough for this
Why is so rarely updated VMware ESXi hardware distribution?
It was indeed updated with some delay, but it was more important to bring a high-quality product to the market, and not to release the raw version as soon as possible. However, many processes at Lenovo are faster than at IBM. Now we will be faster and more flexible.
Why there is no own repository for VMware Update Manager?
We will try to do it, but it is difficult to name the exact dates.
» Why is the cost of the 8852 chassis, calculated in the configurator public.presalesadvisor.com, when changing the logo from IBM System x to the Lenovo System x logo, easily and naturally increased by $ 5000?
Please try to do the calculation again. Such a change should not occur because prices we have not changed. If the problem persists, please note in the comments to this post - we will continue to find out the details and will respond to you personally.
» When will you switch to open BIOS implementations?
Opening a BIOS leads to a decrease in security, and security is one of our priorities. Such a question can be discussed with customers in individual projects, but in general there are no such plans.
» What will happen to the blades on Power, if you and BladeCenter will now deal with them? Or does this apply to the x86 part, and will the blade models on Power continue to release IBM?
Power will continue to produce IBM.
That's all. Thank you for your attention and are ready to answer additional questions in the comments.
Our previous blog posts:
IBM’s x86 server business is not Lenovo's first major purchase. This is part of our global strategy, which is very transparent: we consistently achieve goals, strengthening the brand and making it more and more global. For example, recall the year 2011, when the task was to increase its presence in Western European retail: then Medion was bought. It took to strengthen the direction of smartphones - we have a deal with Motorola. The story with the same IBM and ThinkPad laptops everyone, of course, also knows.
Will there be any serious changes in the product line of x86 servers in the near future?
No, we do not want to lose our customers and partners, so the changes will be smooth and will begin no earlier than 2016.
But back to the main topic. Together with a part of IBM's x86 server business, Lenovo has many new employees. IBM specialists immediately received a proposal to move to work with us while maintaining their positions and salaries. As a result, the Lenovo team has increased by 6,500 people. We carefully took part of the IBM server division and integrated it into Lenovo with a minimum of changes.
')
Who will innovate now?
Lenovo will continue to work closely with IBM, while people who have been involved in x86 earlier will continue their work at Lenovo.
We know perfectly well that it takes time to implement projects on server hardware. A lot of time. This is a long-term planning and careful calculations by the clients, so we simply have no right to take IBM's skills and immediately begin to do everything differently.In this regard, our position is as follows: no abrupt changes, so as not to violate the plans of customers. That is why two lines of servers Lenovo ThinkServer and System x will go in the product portfolio in parallel until the beginning of 2016.
It will be possible to talk about real changes only after 9 months, but we are not planning to keep quiet all this time. We will definitely share our plans to create a single, balanced line of servers from basic to senior level. This is exactly the brand enhancement mentioned above: many of our customers were very enthusiastic about the news about the expansion of the server business. Lenovo received a valuable opportunity to work with customers who previously could not cooperate with us due to the lack of a wide range - we could only offer entry-level servers. Now, Lenovo has a complete portfolio of server hardware, which significantly increases the competitiveness of the brand. The indicator of the share of the server hardware market is also interesting here: according to IDC, after a deal with IBM, Lenovo takes 13% on it.
What will happen to Lenovo's own line of servers?
Until 2016, the System x and ThinkServer lines will be developed in parallel. From 2016, a comprehensive line will appear with servers of all levels.
By the way, the purchase of a part of IBM’s business is not only directly the servers and employees in R & D (which is already a lot), but also sales. Those people who were selling IBM servers around the world also became part of our team. For example, in Russia and the CIS alone, there are more than 60 people with a huge amount of established connections. It turns out that nothing changes for our customers - they just continue to work with the same sales managers. For us, these links are very important. Well, we can say that the integration process is fast and efficient. At least because, for example, that the channel of sales of the first level at Lenovo and IBM substantially coincides.
In this case, if we talk about the business of IBM, it was previously managed globally - at the head office level in the EMEA region. We are going to transfer all processes to the local level in order to more quickly respond to changing requests from our customers.
What will happen to the redbooks.ibm.com resource?
It is administered by IBM, but will soon be transferred to Lenovo. The exact dates are not yet known, but we are seriously interested in its preservation and updating of information.
Many are probably concerned about the question of how the transaction will affect the cost of products. The answer is: market share is an important indicator for Lenovo, so we will focus on aggressive pricing. You can even talk about a potential reduction in prices, but this will in no way be achieved by reducing quality. We have many other effective levers: the desire and ability to plan, an excellent logistics network and, of course, long-standing partnerships with component manufacturers. The latter allows you to influence prices due to very serious volumes of components that we order.
And finally, the question of service. It's all quite simple: over the next five years, under a global contract, IBM will provide service support for all Lenovo products. This also applies to previously sold System x, and ThinkServer, and those devices that we will release in the future. It turns out that here our partners and customers will not feel any negative changes. Worse will not be accurate, while we have thoughts about how to modify and improve the service.
Who to renew the ServicePacks and who to contact for service issues?
Over the next 5 years, IBM will be servicing the servers.
And finally, as they say, one more thing . Buying part of the IBM server business is not only expanding the product portfolio, a step towards leadership in the server hardware market and a pool of customers that has been forming for many years. This is an infrastructure approach. Judge for yourself: we have smartphones , tablets and computers that are used as a means of accessing the Web. Now we have our own servers of all possible levels in order to provide support for ordinary users and corporate clients with any necessary services. And practice shows that an integrated approach is always good.
And from your questions :
» Do you plan to create a line of compact budget servers similar to ProLiant MicroServer?
Such servers are in the line of ThinkServer - this is TS140 . The model appeared a little over a year ago and still sells well.
In some completely new directions, we most likely will not go yet. Now there is a task with a new portfolio to strengthen its position in the market. It seems to us that the available products are enough for this
Why is so rarely updated VMware ESXi hardware distribution?
It was indeed updated with some delay, but it was more important to bring a high-quality product to the market, and not to release the raw version as soon as possible. However, many processes at Lenovo are faster than at IBM. Now we will be faster and more flexible.
Why there is no own repository for VMware Update Manager?
We will try to do it, but it is difficult to name the exact dates.
» Why is the cost of the 8852 chassis, calculated in the configurator public.presalesadvisor.com, when changing the logo from IBM System x to the Lenovo System x logo, easily and naturally increased by $ 5000?
Please try to do the calculation again. Such a change should not occur because prices we have not changed. If the problem persists, please note in the comments to this post - we will continue to find out the details and will respond to you personally.
» When will you switch to open BIOS implementations?
Opening a BIOS leads to a decrease in security, and security is one of our priorities. Such a question can be discussed with customers in individual projects, but in general there are no such plans.
» What will happen to the blades on Power, if you and BladeCenter will now deal with them? Or does this apply to the x86 part, and will the blade models on Power continue to release IBM?
Power will continue to produce IBM.
That's all. Thank you for your attention and are ready to answer additional questions in the comments.
Our previous blog posts:
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/253949/
All Articles