tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285729513030543746.post8902510486783983751..comments2024-03-09T02:42:29.216-08:00Comments on Real Time View: I've got to find a safe haven ...Richard Bucklehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17723428627971060930noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285729513030543746.post-79290590439166009102007-12-01T13:15:00.000-08:002007-12-01T13:15:00.000-08:00Richard -It took some guts to go head-to-head with...Richard -<BR/>It took some guts to go head-to-head with HP on their tendency at times to ride over third-party vendors in favor of their own products. I think that this is a poor policy from both the viewpoint of encouraging an active and successful third-party environment and of doing what is right for the customer. <BR/><BR/>I remember a Summit Q&A recently where top NonStop management vowed not to do this. But I still hear of cases where RDF has been offered free to lock out a replication vendor. And what about developing their NTP product when a better solution had been availabile from a third-party for years?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4285729513030543746.post-87251030856192518932007-11-21T22:20:00.000-08:002007-11-21T22:20:00.000-08:00Richard, I'm enjoying your blog. It's a great mix...Richard, I'm enjoying your blog. It's a great mix of interesting general commentary and insightful analysis of issues in IT.<BR/><BR/>I appreciate the point you've made this time about primary vendors and their capabilities and relevance. I think some of the vendors' M & A activity is driven by these forces.<BR/><BR/>When successful, vendors increase their relevance, capability and/or capacity by acquiring the right firms. When these acquisitions go wrong, they can leave the customer with less than the sum of the parts instead of more.<BR/><BR/>I think this is also very much the case with partnerships. When I compare IBM and Microsoft, for example, I often see IBM choosing to play to their strengths and welcoming partners to add value; increasing options for customers.<BR/><BR/>In contrast, Microsoft's choice to exercise greater control over the end-to-end solution allows them to define solutions more narrowly, but can limit them in leveraging what partners' can bring to the partnership.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01514966493914188237noreply@blogger.com