IBM tries to magic up a unified server strategy

IBM will kick off its "Magic Box" advertising campaign and road show today in a bid to convince customers of a fully unified server strategy.

But some cynical IBM partners have already nicknamed it "tragic box". Despite this Big Blue has plans for a TV, Web and paper advertising campaign that "will run to $100s of millions worldwide" across Europe.

For the first time the vendor will present its full range of servers - an S/390 mainframe, an RS/6000 Unix machines, a midrange AS/400 and an Intel based Netfinity, all working together in a unified environment. IBM believes that choice between the different technology platforms has been confusing for customers and distracts them from business level decision making.

Internally, the vendor has been trying to encourage the server teams to work together. It officially merged the divisions early last year and the teams have begun to co-operate on development - the new eight way Intel Xeon server due later this year was designed by the RS/6000 team, and manufacturing - the RS/6000 and AS/400 share many components.

Despite these best intentions the vendor has made no perceivable effort to unify its product announcements. This month it will launch two slim line servers aimed at the Internet service provider and application service provider market.

The RS/6000 B50 "pizzazz" Unix server will be launched today as well as the high end S80 "Sunscreen" Unix server, the first to be based on the new copper based PowerPC chip. IBM is already claiming it will outperform Sun's biggest Unix box, the E10000 Starfire.

Next week, on the 23 September, the personal systems group will launch the dual Xeon processor 4000R NT/Linux server, codenamed Intimidator.

Later still IBM is expected to announce Internet specific servers based on the technology purchased with the acquisition of Whistle this June.

IBM's partners also report that on the sales and marketing side the divisions between the factions are ever present despite a serious reorganisation underway at a European level that has seen some high level departures in recent months.

These included: The European head of mid range servers (RS/6000 and AS/400); Antoine Granatino, the head of servers for northern Emea; and Jean-Claude Malraison, head of channel sales for Emea.

Tensions are particularly high between RS/6000 and AS/400 sales forces, both of which are failing to achieve the revenue growth seen in the mainframe and Netfinity Intel server market.

IBM's partners were given a sneak preview of the campaign last week in Nice, France, to a mixed reception. One UK reseller, who wouldn't be named, referred to the Magic Box campaign as the, "tragic box".

"I think it's very sad that IBM has to tell the world that it's a server company. Personally I don't hold with IBM's operating system agnostic, any size fits all, argument. You can have any colour server as long as it's black," he said.

"It's too confusing for customers, they need to educated in the differences between different operating systems or hardware otherwise they will go for the lowest common denominator, and the lowest common denominator is NT," he argued.

He believed that many of IBM's larger partners would not take part in the co-operative marketing campaign.