CRN Interview: Adalio Sanchez, IBM

IBM recently launched its new, Linux-based pSeries server,the p630,on the heels of drastically reducing pricing on its p650 server line, targeted for the SMB market. Both servers are based on IBM's Power4 processor architecture. Senior Editor Edward F. Moltzen recently sat down with Adalio Sanchez, general manager of IBM's pSeries line, and discussed the details of the company's strategy and products.

CRN: Recently, there have been some pretty aggressive pricing actions out of the IBM Server Group and the pSeries unit specifically. We've been told that there is a new and aggressive strategy to win market share in the midrange segment. How would you describe what's happening?

Sanchez: What you saw with the [recent IDC results is that IBM, as a whole, captured No. 1 in market share. The pSeries finished up an extremely successful quarter. We were the only manufacturer to grow revenue year-on-year this past quarter. What you're seeing is the result of a strategy we put in place many, many years ago.

CRN: But now pricing has come down significantly on some pSeries servers, including the p650. Some systems are priced lower than comparable [Intel Itanium-based servers, IBM has said.

Sanchez: It's not just a pricing issue. Our performance continues to improve. LPAR [logical partitioning is viewed extremely well [as a value-add. They can do two times' more work on a single processor than what was available from us before. That translates into significant savings. Customers have really responded with purchases of the [p650 machine.

CRN: LPAR was a mainframe technology that's being integrated into midrange systems. Is that a way to move lower-end enterprises up the food chain using IBM technology?

Sanchez: We do not compromise on features that originally attracted [customers to Unix in the first place. We don't strip down our servers to cut cost and protect our margin. %85 We are able to leverage our Power4 technology and mainframe architecture to give us advantages in cost without having to sacrifice on functionality or reliability.

CRN: With the p630 server that runs Linux natively, IBM has said it is taking another big step toward advancing Linux in the enterprise. But doesn't that go against your longtime strategy of pushing AIX as a differentiator? Will this hurt your position with AIX?

Sanchez: If you look at what's transpiring in the market, more and more application developers are shifting over to Linux. We made a commitment to Linux about two years ago in development of the p690 [server. Customers are able to run AIX applications on the pSeries and are able to run Linux partitions. We've now taken the next step. %85 They can run their AIX application natively or they can run their Linux application on pSeries natively, or they can run both in combination via partition. They can jump on AIX today and know they have the peace of mind that we will support them on Linux wherever and whenever they go over time. Our strategy is to provide customers choice and give them investment protection. The strategy is that every day you are able to provide more for less.

CRN: When IBM came out with the p630 announcement, [Hewlett-Packard put out a statement questioning some of IBM's statements. In particular, it said that some of the price comparisons that reflect positively on IBM's p630 over comparable HP servers running Linux on an Itanium 2 architecture only consider a very narrow configuration. HP also says that, unlike IBM, it can run Windows, Linux or Unix [HP-UX on one of its servers, while IBM can only run Linux or Unix [AIX. Do you have any response?

Sanchez: They are going to say what they are going to say. In a challenging market like we all face today, the competitive battlefront is tougher and tougher every day. I'm familiar with Sun [Microsystems offerings, with HP offerings. We are better positioned, we believe.