Interview with IBM's Scott Handy

This week we interview Scott Handy. You're probably all now familiar with Scott, director of Worldwide Linux Solutions for the IBM, from his opinion piece Just Add Linux that we posted here at Linux Online. We're grateful to him for continuing to take time from his busy schedule and help us get the Linux message out there.

Linux Online: First, I'd like to thank you for letting us post your opinion piece 'Just Add Linux' here at Linux Online. How has the feedback been on that?

Scott Handy: The feedback has been very positive. We'll be making an announcement next week at a show for our Business Partners, PartnerWorld, that shows the momentum of Linux in the partner community. The number of IBM Business Partners that support our Linux-enabled software has grown at an amazing rate over the last year. We've seen over an 800 percent increase in the number of Business Partners that support our Linux-enabled software - just in the last year. There's a real business opportunity surrounding the Linux platform.

Linux Online: How did you come to be director of Worldwide Linux Solutions for IBM and what does your job entail?

Scott Handy: I've been with IBM for 18 years and in that time, I've worked in a variety of positions, including sales, strategy and product marketing. I have a broad background within IBM. I've been involved with many operating system initiatives over the years, including Windows NT, Solaris and OS/2. This experience has been helpful in leading the efforts surrounding Linux. My job entails working with the solutions community including Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), Value Added Resellers, Value Added Distributors and others to make sure that we have solutions on Linux that match up with what our customers want. My focus surroundings the key software offerings from IBM on Linux including DB2, WebSphere, Lotus and Tivoli.

Linux Online: We're you involved in planning or development for the now famous IBM Linux commercial, 'The Heist'?

Scott Handy: No, I can't take credit for that one! IBM has a group of really talented, creative folks that handle the advertising for the corporation.

Linux Online: When IBM announced a 1 billion dollar investment in Linux, that really changed the world for Linux and in many different ways, didn't it?

Scott Handy: It's hard for me to characterize if that announcement changed the Linux community. IBM has been a longstanding supporter of Linux - I think that statement really captured the attention of those people that maybe weren't aware of IBM's level of commitment and activity surrounding Linux. The bottom line is that Linux and the open movement are central to the eco-system of our industry and to IBM's e-business strategy. That statement seemed to resonate with the industry and really provided a sense of scale of the opportunity surrounding Linux.

Linux Online: Just prior to the most recent Linux World Expo in New York, IBM announced that it had gotten back its billion. Where has Linux been most profitable for IBM- in what area?

Scott Handy: IBM has recouped most of that investment in 2001 in hardware, software and services revenue related to Linux. We will continue to invest in these areas where we see strong growth and new opportunities, from massive Linux clusters in life sciences to the next generation telco infrastructure. We continue to help promote the acceptance and growth of Linux, and will continue to invest in marketing, sales, ISV support, advertising and development worldwide.

Linux Online: Is there a plan for Linux to replace all of IBM's operating systems? OS/2 in particular?

Scott Handy: No, there are no plans to replace all of our operating systems with Linux. We work with a diverse set of customers from all around the world. By supporting a number of operating systems, including Linux, we're able to meet the needs of that diverse group.

Linux Online: How is IBM's corporate structure dealing with open source projects and giving it's work product back to the world? That must have been a big paradigm shift for some people.

Scott Handy: When we first started to talk about Linux internally, there was this huge wave of people in the development groups clamoring to participate. Like a lot of companies, we found out that Linux had been a part of the corporation long before our execs knew about it.

Linux Online: Was there a large debate about participating in Open Source and GPL projects because of the copyright issues?

Scott Handy: No, IBM has been part of the open source community for a long time.

Linux Online: How does IBM feel its Linux software and the Linux OS compare to other products, services and systems that are currently available in the marketplace?

Scott Handy: I think we have the broadest offering of Linux-based software available today - so I think we stack up against the competition very well! IBM's leading middleware runs on Linux, including DB2 (our database offering that's outpacing Oracle), WebSphere (that's outpacing BEA), and Lotus and Tivoli. IBM offers its leading middleware - industry leading middleware - on Linux. A lot of other companies are just now realizing the importance of Linux - look at Sun's recent announcement. They have just now come to see the power of the Open Movement.

As for the Linux as a platform, it's a great operating platform for all the characteristics everyone is familiar with - it's a cost effective, reliable and high-performing OS. We've heard the stories, and I'm sure you have too, where people have literally had their Linux-based systems up and running for years without it crashing. In today's fast-paced market, where companies are running mission critical applications over the Web, having a reliable OS can become an important factor in running a competitive business.

Linux Online: We hear a lot about Microsoft and their 90% market share on desktops and about proprietary Unix OSes dominating mission critical placements. We hear on one side that Linux doesn't have a chance to put a dent in Microsoft's desktop numbers and then we hear that the jury is still out on whether Linux is ready to replace all those Unix servers out there. My perception is that Linux is ready for anything one might need it for. You must be seeing much more interest in Linux for a variety of different uses. Linux is getting easier to "sell", isn't it?

Scott Handy: From an IBM perspective, we're really focused on Linux in the enterprise. That's where we see the growth opportunity and the demand from our customers.

Linux Online: It seems to me that last year was the year that IBM really got people used to the idea that they were behind Linux 100%. What should be expect to see this year from IBM in the Linux field, in general "big picture" terms?

Scott Handy: We will continue to sell hardware, software and services based on Linux. According to IDC, by next year, Linux is expected to claim 32% of the server market, up from 27% last year. Linux is making significant inroads into the corporate IT environment and will account for 9% of IT budget in 2002. I think you'll continue to see announcements surrounding new customers using Linux. Like I said earlier, we're seeing activity in the teleco and life sciences areas, as well as seeing an increase in the number of traditional business applications available on Linux. For IBM, we'll continue to be active within the Linux community and we'll continue to help our customers. This is also the year when we expect many more of our partners to say that they are also fully behind Linux. We're seeing the momentum already with our PartnerWorld for Software resellers and systems integrators - and also with ISVs in our PartnerWorld for Developers program. So we're doing a lot of work with our partners to enable them, to train them, and to help them go-to-market with Linux solutions.

Linux Online: How's work shaping up for you in 2002? Any new interesting projects you'd like to give us a preview of?

Scott Handy: I expect this to be an exciting year! The interesting projects are often on the frontiers - the edges of Linux - so I think you'll see a lot of activity surrounding grid computing this year, and also in supercomputing, and in embedded Linux. Just recently at LinuxWorld in New York we showed the Linux Intelligent Vending machine - a soda machine built around Linux and IBM software where you purchase a drink using a handheld device such as a PDA instead of cash. But the most interesting projects this year, from my point of view, will be those where businesses, who hadn't heard of Linux three years ago, use Linux this year for their mission-critical applications. We'll continue to see growth surrounding the Linux OS.

Once again, thanks to Scott for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. You can check out IBM's website dedicated to Linux and see some of the projects that Scott is in charge of at: http://www.ibm.com/linux/