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back to article IBM and SAP: Looks like we're STUCK forever on the cloud highway

Earnings from SAP and IBM – two giants in enterprise IT - proved that both companies are struggling to cope with the move to the cloud and show that success in hosted computing is receding for them. While it's true that the big growth for SAP was in its cloud-related business – up 66 per cent for the fourth quarter and 158 per …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The nature of the beast

    So what exactly is Amazon then? A great example of symbiosis with two weirdly different businesses dependent on each other (vast retail for the masses vs vast and highly technical computing resources for the gurus), or some kind of mutant hydra that's going to fall to bits?

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  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sneeeeery

    > the company’s core business, software sales, is not looking as healthy. Indeed, it grew by a relatively meagre two and three per cent for the quarter and year, respectively

    I think I'm growing tired of The Reg's constant sneery and critical attitude towards everything - it used to be strictly reserved for Oracle/Ellison articles, but I've seen it spreading to pretty much every story where someone or something hasn't beaten all known records and outperformed everyone's expectations.

    I'm all for jokes and criticism where deserved (or even marginally deserved), but all too often I'm just left thinking "what?", and picturing The Reg's teenage team hunched over a screen in a bout of cackling at their latest funny funny.

    Meh, maybe I'm growing up.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    its about developers

    The cloud is about software. Without the software its just server hosting.

    This is a big problem for IBM. They are probably the most developer unfriendly company that actually sells software. If you ever worked for them you will know that at least once a day you will encounter some ridiculous piece of buerocracy that confirms your status- beneath sales, beneath accounts, beneath admin,and above all beneath H.R.. There is if course always the anti-kudos of working for the company that makes lotus notes as well as the having to use the awful thing daily.

    SAP also seem to have a problem if any of the software I have used is anything to go by.

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    1. Anonymous Coward
      Reply Icon
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: its about developers

      That's a shame. It sounds like working for IBM is at least as depressing as being one of their customers.

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    2. Valiant
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      Re: its about developers

      You forgot "beneath legal".

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      1. Anonymous Coward
        Reply Icon
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: its about developers

        Glad you mentioned Legal too. I could detail (but won't, for obvious reasons) some examples of where IBMs legal process actively prevents us from selling software or doing subversive things like working collaboratively with clients. Legal are a particular problem because of the absolute authority they command over business units and their frequent shocking lack of understanding of technology.

        Unfortunately, when someone in Legal makes a bone-headed decision based on a fundamental misunderstanding of technology, there is simply nobody below senior executive level with the clout/balls to overrule them. And you won't get very far in IBM by asking senior execs to overrul Legal.

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        1. Getriebe
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          Re: its about developers

          Legal. I work in a big company - not on the scale of IBM - but big enough and we have an overarching legal department. Part of my job is referring all changes, development and stuff to them - but I reckon its all about managing them. I find if the issue or change is explained and they can see the processes etc they are reasonabel. And time and again, the correct heads of agreement has protected us from other legal departments wanting to exercise their muscles. Necessary evil in a big company.

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    3. Randall Shimizu
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      Re: its about developers

      You obviously overlooked IBM Developerworks. IBM's Developerworks provides more developer resources than any company around.

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    And I thought I was the only person who bought that album.

    Now, I'll go back and read the article.

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