IBM is targeting academia to ensure that its gets the most out of its $1 billion Linux investment.
IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM)
announced today that it is donating $5 million worth of p/series servers and workstations to build a Linux Lab for students and staff at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Big Blue has also chipped in products from its Rational software division.
But such largesse is not entirely disinterested. In an official statement, the company said that it expects to have thousands of IT vacancies coming up later this year and needs to ensure that universities can meet this demand (see IBM, UMass Join Forces).
Sure. But what about the companys ongoing Linux crusade? To date, IBM has spent more than $1 billion on Linux and is as keen as ever to exploit users desire for the open source operating system, which is seen as a cost-effective alternative to products from the ubiquitous Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT). Suddenly $5 million seems like pretty small potatoes.
Plus, Linux is regarded as being quite sexy in the data center -- something that cannot be said of technologies such as the 40-year old mainframe -- which is one of IBMs key product offerings (see Mainframe Skills Shortage Looms).
Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer for Juniper Networks, explains how the advanced technology is transforming operations.
Contact center leaders from 8x8, Awaken Intelligence, and 360insight discuss the importance of agent experience.
AI may force enterprises to rewire parts of their data centers so they are fully optimized to run such workloads. The question is do you use Ethernet or InfiniBand?
