UPDATED 15:59 EDT / FEBRUARY 25 2015

Modernized z Mainframe: A bridge to IBM’s future|#IBMInterConnect

kickoff

In order to succeed, IBM needs to do everything they are doing now, but faster, says SiliconANGLE founder John Furrier. In his opening segment with theCUBE co-host Dave Vellante, Furrier kicked off Day Three of IBM InterConnect with a debate on IBM’s future strategy and what they need to focus on to succeed.

Own the Cloud

“IBM has to own the cloud, all in. The cloud is the critical link. They need to come in, own the cloud, deliver” on it, then go after the Big Data market, Furrier said. IBM should also “clean out the bureaucracy internally and go for agility,” he added. According to Furrier, IBM has to win the cloud market in the next twelve months, refuse to give even an inch to Amazon, then “go after EMC and put out a great product in storage.”

Converting R&D into revenue

The next challenge the company has to address is turning research and development (R&D) into products and services that sell. “My big issue with IBM,” Dave Vellante said, “they’ve got to translate that R&D into products. We see that with Watson but it is not consistent through the divisions. I would figure out a way to consolidate all my SaaS applications.” Vellante added, “The consumer mentality is coming to the enterprise, that is IBM’s opportunity.” They need to turn the 1 billion dollar R&D into products and solutions.

Hidden weapon: the mainframe

The hidden weapon of IBM is actually the mainframe. “From a marketing standpoint, IBM can talk about how it’s modernized the [z] mainframe,” Vellante said. “It is a great business for IBM, it drags along software and services. That’s going to buy IBM time to bridge the gap between the new strategies, the new stuff and the old.” Furrier agreed the mainframe is IBM’s heritage, but “It’s evolving into something bigger for them. “I would market the hell out of the mainframe,” he added.

Watch the full segment below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of IBM InterConnect.

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