IBM acquiring Red Hat, future plans

Do we have any Red Hat employees on this site?

According to an interview in the TBJ:

“IBM CEO Ginni Rometty has said repeatedly that the deal is a “game-changer.”

“We’re playing to be the undisputed number one and that is what led us to Red Hat,” she said earlier this week.

Steve Robinson, the RTP-based general manager of IBM Cloud Labs and IBM Hybrid Cloud, says in an interview that the deal’s success could further position the region in the emerging technology, too – a sector he says is going to be critical for the industry in the coming years.

IBM, even with its 380,000 employees and whopping $104 billion market cap, has faced major challenges capturing enterprise business in the cloud space, he admits.

That could be where Red Hat’s vendor flexibility comes in – a major reason executives say it needs to maintain its independence.

“We had talked to enterprises where they use multiple cloud vendors,” he says. “Having the ability to work with multiple cloud vendors was important.”

He – like top execs at Red Hat and IBM execs-red-hat-will-remain-switzerland emphasizes Big Blue’s intention to keep its acquiree’s independence. But he couldn’t immediately say whether Red Hat, which is swiftly outgrowing Red Hat Tower, might ever spill into its RTP campus. :thinking:

“I think we’ll be able to further spell out what those integrations are once we reach closure,” he says, calling it all just “speculation” at this point.

But he says IBM and Red Hat may not be as different as some think – pointing to the agile workspaces at RTP.

“It looks like a West Coast startup when you walk in the door,” he says”

So, as current or future Red Hat employees, are just as happy to work in RTP as you would be in DTR?

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Hmm, “agile workspaces at RTP.” Now, I haven’t been in every building on the IBM campus, but let me say what I have seen, I have not been impressed. I’ve never gotten any kind of startup feel in the buildings I’ve visited. Maybe they are hiding the Foosball tables and beer kegs somewhere, or maybe I’ve just been in the more bland buildings, which is certainly possible.

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Why would IBM want to “look like a start up” it’s not. Niether was Red Hat. The first step in the merge is to be honest with what you are, but my gut tells me they will not abandon downtown, the prime location and marketing value to hide Redhat in the woods at RTP.

@softfurrykitty
My “gut” is telling me that “this” current IBM CEO is laying the ground work for the RTP campus. He could even say how RTP is going through a kind of metamorphosis of it’s own. So, we’re moving some departments to the campus where you will learn to enjoy the new RTP. Nothing wrong with trying to save some money, as they can at that point rent out the Red Hat building at a substantially higher rate through the end of its term. Reminder which wins out rent or own? DTR or RTP?

Makes sense, exactly why they are not a start up, shareholders need them to save money and produce profits. Does Redhat own that building?

I think I’d be surprised if they abandon the building downtown in the short-term (for purely logistics reasons). I think the interesting question is where they decide to expand their “Red Hat” staff. If RTF really manages to make RTP into a futuristic mini city, then some of the cost advantages of locating out there may disappear, but some of the appeal of DTR may diminish as well. So, we’ll see.

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IBM employee here. There are some selected spaced/floors that have been fully renovated and feel like a high-end silicon valley start-up.

However, the majority of the space still looks like its’ from the 70s, but they are working on improving more spaces.

I’m in the design studio which is a pretty amazing little space.

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RedHat will likely not abandon the current building in downtown. Their lease is actually a steal compared to current rates and valid until 2035 (TBJ reported)

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I agree that it is indeed a steal…however, now IBM can steal more by renting “sub” renting it out to another company/s willing to pay a much higher price during the remainder of the contract???

Red Hat is staying downtown Raleigh. IBM is keeping that buildings lease.

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IBM’s RTP lead Tim Humphrey was quoted as saying in a cover story for the TBJ:

“Rather than worry about a culture clash, he’s (Tim) already thinking about ways the entities learn from each other and collaborate. He points to a free snacks initiative recently implemented at IBM that, in addition to addressing needs of employees, “gets people together, gets people socializing.”

woo-hoo…LMAO :sweat_smile:

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The free snacks initiative. Well ok then! :peanuts: :pretzel: :cookie: :candy:

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I base my employment on the snack policy.

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Don’t kid yourselves, free food and drink is a huge part of technology industry culture, and it’s hotly debated among the full spectrum from start-up to legacy technology companies.

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While I do admit that “free” food and drink is nice…it wouldn’t woo me to IBM…:grin:

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I’d love free food and drinks at work. My work sells snacks/drinks that are more expensive than DGx one block away…

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I have worked for two companies that provided “free” food and drink. In one case the drinks were from a fountain, it always ran 24/7 and most people kept there cups full and were caffeine fiends…the other had a cafeteria style set up and as long as you had your photo ID/badge, no payment…now that one I truly miss…

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Yeah my place of work has a $3,000 super-automatic espresso machine. When I worked at Red Hat they had really crappy pod machines that made terrible coffee. Cisco had vending machines, yuck.

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LOL – free coffee is a MUST for any IT department. Does not make a lot of difference as to how good it is, just add cream and sugar until drinkable. Bigger the cup the better.

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I work for a large engineering firm and we have free Starbucks machines on every floor. Too bad I’m not a coffee drinker :frowning:

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