December 8, 2004

IBM will no longer sell PC's. What does it mean for your business?

As you've probably heard already, IBM, in a 13 month negotiation is selling its computer business to a Chinese company - Lenovo. Lenovo will keep the IBM brand for 5 years and then the branding will switch over to Lenovo.

What does this mean for your business?

Well right NOW - it doesn't mean that much. If you buy IBM computers today or have already bought them, I'm sure the warranty and support will be honored.

For the future, IBM's focus on innovation is now in the hands of another company that is most likely going to pour money into competing directly with Dell and ensuring it's computers are as low priced as possible. IBM didn't mind having a premium on its computers but when you fight Dell - you've really go to focus on price.

What does Michael Dell think (from Cnet): "We're not a big fan of the idea of taking companies and smashing them together. When was the last time you saw a successful acquisition or merger in the computer industry?" said Michael Dell, chairman of Dell, during a question-and-answer session at Oracle Open World. "It hasn't happened in a long, long time...I don't see this one (IBM-Lenovo) as being all that different.

There's information here from Reuters and from Cnet

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