[Video] Microsofters at IBM and Cultural Changes That Doom IBM's Future
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IBM Babies
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TODAY'S second video (out of four) deals with some of the issues covered this past Tuesday, namely:
- Ageism at IBM Has a Long, Sad, Sordid History
- ‘Dinobabies’ Extinction at IBM: Inhumane Treatment of Elderly (Experienced) Workers
IBM is basically removing - even systematically as a matter of policy - some of its most skilled workers and replacing them with people who are less expensive to employ. This results in mediocrity rather than meritocracy, but IBM can lower expenses this way and then pretend profits are "up". But for how long? They're not investing in an actual future.
The same has been happening at Red Hat, which is now controlled fully by IBM. Red Hat even hired many managers from Microsoft, sometimes despite them having no background in technology!
"An additional possible reason why the Microsofters at IBM have it out for older workers," an associate says, "is that the older workers would be onboard with and part of the big money-making activities centered around Linux. More importantly the older workers would be acutely aware of the value of Linux* and, to a lesser extent, the value of software freedom (in the greater context of OSS)."
Some of the older workers know a time when Microsoft was not even a thing. Some started working in technology before Microsoft even existed. They used to get the work done using lean, mean tools, not bloatware with bells and whistles (and lots of glaring security holes).
"Lean software is an essential prerequisite for security aka availability, confidentiality, integrity," the associate adds. "So is FOSS. One cannot have traditional security without both simplicity and software freedom. The problem lies in the aftermarket add-ons and other snake oil. Like with ransomware, those have grown from a cottage industry into a large and burgeoning economy -- despite actually producing nothing while having, at best, slightly negative effects overall."
IBM has released a report about security and the cost of breaches. Maybe it should heed its own warning and take its own advice. █