IBM Out of Chip Manufacturing Business and General Execution Thread

Discussion in 'Graphics and Semiconductor Industry' started by UniversalTruth, Feb 8, 2014.

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  1. UniversalTruth

    UniversalTruth
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    Semiconductor sale a vital part of IBM’s strategic realignment

    The costs of staying at the leading edge of semiconductor research and manufacturing have also risen inexorably. IBM’s main “fab”, or chip plant, in East Fishkill, New York, pictured right, has absorbed billions of dollars of capital investment as the company has invested in the larger wafer sizes needed to stay competitive.

    The technology race to produce ever-smaller features on chips – needed to maintain the exponential advance in cost-efficiency in semiconductors known as Moore’s Law – has also made this too costly a game for all but a small handful of companies.

    “It’s harder and harder to achieve that doubling of chip performance every 18 months,” says Mr Bartels.

    Yet dropping out of the tech industry’s most demanding race could have far-reaching consequences. IBM’s main chip architecture, known as Power, is credited by some analysts with being superior in servers to Intel’s x86 – though it is the Intel architecture that has steadily invaded data centres in recent years.

    Abandoning further development could rob IBM of some its biggest technology advantages, some analysts warn.

    Timeline: key moments at Big Blue

    1964 IBM’s System/360 mainframe makes it the dominant force in the first era of corporate computing
    1993 Lou Gerstner, right, arrives as chief executive in the midst of a financial crisis
    1995 $3.5bn purchase of Lotus Development Corp lays the foundation for expansion of the software business
    Fans watch a chess game 06 May 1997 in New York be©AFP
    1996 In a seminal man versus machine moment, middle right, IBM’s Deep Blue computer beats world chess champion Garry Kasparov
    2002 Acquisition of PwC consulting division for $3.5bn rounds out IBM’s move into business services
    2002 Group sells hard drive business to Hitachi for $2bn
    Lenovo
    2005 Group sells PC division to Lenovo for $1.75bn
    2008 IBM’s biggest acquisition, the $5bn purchase of business intelligence company Cognos, cements software’s role
    Jan 2014 IBM sells commodity server business to Lenovo for $2.3bn; explores sale of semiconductor division

    IBM Looking to Sell Chip Manufacturing Operations
     
    #1 UniversalTruth, Feb 8, 2014
  2. UniversalTruth

    UniversalTruth
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    UP!

    No one seems to give a damn about IBM at these forums? Is it a topic which should not be mentioned or what? If so, sorry to share these exciting news
     
    #2 UniversalTruth, Feb 9, 2014
  3. entity279

    entity279
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    Or maybe no one has anything constructive or insightful to add to the matter, as fascinating as it in itself may be.
     
    #3 entity279, Feb 9, 2014
  4. UniversalTruth

    UniversalTruth
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    Maybe, but I have looked through the forums and there are only very few topics about IBM with one two three posts maximum in each anyways... So, seems like the company in general is not being discussed which definitely confuses me
     
    #4 UniversalTruth, Feb 9, 2014
  5. Wynix

    Wynix
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    This is exactly why i didn't comment earlier.

    After they sell this we will have even less to talk about.
    IBM are not talked about because they do not sell parts for personal computers.
     
    #5 Wynix, Feb 10, 2014
  6. UniversalTruth

    UniversalTruth
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    #6 UniversalTruth, Feb 10, 2014
  7. RudeCurve

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    Pretty big news and thanks for posting. Maybe Apple could buy IBM's fabs and manufacture their own chips?:cool:
     
    #7 RudeCurve, Feb 10, 2014
  8. Entropy

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    These are forums primarily populated by console and PC gamers. IBM doesn't fit into the context.
    This is not unexpected news, but still depressing for an oldtimer like me. IBM has some incredibly sharp people on board their ship, and I'm saddened to see IBMs hardware arm get progressively amputated.

    We'll see what this means for the Power servers. And for Global Foundries and others with whom IBM collaborated.
     
    #8 Entropy, Feb 10, 2014
  9. Gubbi

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    Seconded. Unfortunately IBM is turning into a software+services company.

    Power servers are likely to go the way of their mainframe business; An increasingly niche solution (though with high margins).

    It really is too bad. They've always driven technology, and they always been quite open about it on ISSCC and Hot Chips.

    Cheers
     
    #9 Gubbi, Feb 10, 2014
  10. ToTTenTranz

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    So is this a sign that IBM giving up on their Power CPUs?
     
    #10 ToTTenTranz, Feb 10, 2014
  11. UniversalTruth

    UniversalTruth
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    Guys, what is the real story behind this? Why aren't they selling parts for normal consumers?

    What could have happened if their decision had been to compete with Intel? As we know, their chips are very competitive...

    Do you think this could have helped them to maintain these manufacturing operations?
     
    #11 UniversalTruth, Feb 10, 2014
  12. CarstenS

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    I think this story is really interesting, since they've just announced their Power8 architecture. I don't think that they want to ditch that design due to non-manufacturability. And IBM can pay high prices because they can sell their servers at high margins, but they need cutting edge process technology. I could think of a fruitful collaboration with another "blue" company that seems to have the manufacturing capabilities needed.

    There, I said it.
     
    #12 CarstenS, Feb 10, 2014
  13. UniversalTruth

    UniversalTruth
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    Just?! Wasn't it in Q3 last year if I remember correctly?
     
    #13 UniversalTruth, Feb 10, 2014
  14. eastmen

    eastmen
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    Perhaps global foundries would fit their power 8 tech ? They wont have to pay the costs of upgrading fabs all the time that way ?
     
    #14 eastmen, Feb 11, 2014
  15. CarstenS

    CarstenS
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    Yes, at HC25 IIRC. Server business is not as fleeting as consumer, hence "just". For your daily dose of internets rumor mongering sites, that's of course just barely after the forming of the solar system, right? ;)
     
    #15 CarstenS, Feb 12, 2014
  16. Blazkowicz

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    x86 Server business sold to Lenovo in Jan 2014? I thought this had happened years ago, and that IBM only had mainframes and "midrange computers" for sale (i.e. POWER stuff that runs linux, AIX, and the continuation of what ran on the AS/400), with some other weird stuff on the side.
     
    #16 Blazkowicz, Feb 13, 2014
  17. UniversalTruth

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    #17 UniversalTruth, Feb 28, 2014
  18. willardjuice

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    #18 willardjuice, Feb 28, 2014
  19. UniversalTruth

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    #19 UniversalTruth, Apr 4, 2014
  20. tangey

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    #20 tangey, Oct 20, 2014
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