OS/2 Shareware BBS: 32 Periodic/32-Periodic.zip/MNLTXT.ZIP/jmtlet.txt

Text File | 1995-05-18 | 6KB | 136 lines

Insights from John M. Thompson

I'm very pleased to be a part of the first issue of The OS/2
Warp Monthly Newsletter.  We at IBM are proud of the success of
OS/2 Warp, and want to share with you news you can use regarding
Warp.  Since its release last fall, OS/2 Warp has been showered
with critical acclaim.  More importantly, it's been warmly
embraced by customers, who have bought and installed more than 2
million copies.



IBM is absolutely committed to doing everything we can to build
upon and extend the OS/2 Warp success story.  The success of
OS/2 is essential if we're to achieve the central goal of IBM
software -- to be the company that helps customers fulfill the
promise of client/server computing.

Our customers are committed to the distributed computing model
because they can reengineer their businesses, making them more
responsive to changing markets, by giving their employees access
to more information and making them more productive. But they're
also frustrated that they can't get full value from their
client/server investments, because it's too expensive, too
complex, and not yet reliable enough for the enterprise.



IBM has the experience with mission-critical software that's
needed to improve the reliability of distributed computing.



We're also experts at managing the total cost of computing.  And
we recognize that we must deliver this functionality to
customers in a way that's appealing to end users. And that means
easy to obtain, easy to install, easy to use and easy to manage.
 That's why we're planning to introduce packages of IBM software
for OS/2 and AIX that deliver the robust functionality of IBM's
industrial strength middleware in easy-toinstall and -use
suites.  We've already introduced the SystemView Series to make
our industry-leading systems management products available in
one simple package.



We're also shipping IBM WorkGroup on OS/2 this month.  It
provides an integrated palette of software products ranging from
e-mail to document management and workflow, that makes it easy
for groups to communicate and link their resources.



And we're rapidly deploying leading-edge object technology.  Our
award-winning VisualAge development environment will greatly
improve the speed and productivity of application development.
OpenDoc will allow end users to create tailored applications
from disparate parts.  And with open frameworks from Taligent,
software developers won't have to start from scratch each time
they write an application.



Guiding all of this is IBM's commitment to open industry
standards, as represented by our Open Blueprint.  This means IBM
software will excel at supporting any client, any server or any
network protocol.  Customers can interoperate across any IBM
platform or non-IBM system that complies with open standards.



And OS/2 is a key part of the strategy.  In addition to the
success of OS/2 Warp as a client operating system, OS/2 is
already the leading application server in the industry.  We're
building on this leadership with OS/2 Warp Connect, which makes
it easy for small businesses or enterprise workgroups to harness
the multitasking power of OS/2 to share data and resources.



In order to continue to strengthen the success of OS/2 Warp, IBM
has several important initiatives.  First, we're investing
heavily in marketing and promoting Warp, to give it the
visibility it needs to reach millions of new users.  Second,
we're signing up leading PC makers like the IBM PC Co. and Dell
in the U.S., Vobis in Germany and Osborne in Australia to
preload OS/2 Warp on their PCs.  Third, we've put together an
aggressive program to accelerate the development of 32-bit
applications for OS/2.  We've recruited 22 major software
developers with 76 new Intel-based and 48 new PowerPC-based
applications in the first quarter alone.



Finally, let me say a brief word about marketing, sales, service
and support.  We recognize that IBM has the best software
products and technology in the world, but that we've sometimes
been out-marketed by other companies.  One of the most important
goals of the new IBM software "company" is to improve our
marketing, with a special focus on end users; to strengthen our
sales capability; and to emphasize IBM's superior service and
support.  We need to duplicate the good marketing job we've done
with OS/2 Warp across our entire software business.  I've spent
more of my time on these issues than any other in the past
several months.



We've been in business as an integrated IBM software
organization only since January.  But already, we can feel a new
sense of spirit and determination to make IBM not just the
largest, but the best software company in the world in the eyes
of customers.



Thanks for reading this first issue of the newsletter.  We hope
it will become an important and informative source you can rely
on for the latest news about OS/2 Warp.



Some background on John Thompson

In January, John M. Thompson was tapped by IBM Chairman and CEO
Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. to head the new IBM software "company."
He is responsible for IBM's overall software strategy, marketing
and development.  Three divisions -- Personal Software Products,
Software Solutions and Networking Software -- report to him.  In
addition, he gives guidance to the worldwide software sales
organization and the software platform development organizations
that reside in the server divisions. Mr. Thompson is an IBM
senior vice president and group executive based in Somers, New
York.