Center Stage: AMD at IBM's Software University

Someone told me the other day that life was about constantly looking into the future. You have probably heard other phrases that ring with a similar tone, my other favorite is "Don't live in the past".

I happen to think that some of that is bogus advice, especially when it comes to technology & marketing (on the Technical front this is true too, but thats another blog). It is impossible to understand how much our industry has grown and matured without being able to look at the past and use that as a measure of progress. So in this sense I talk about the past as a benchmark however it is really more than that.

AMD now has performance and development projects underway across IBM Software including work with their Java teams, Websphere, DB2, Lotus and Tivoli. While many of these projects have been going on for some time, our recent investment in the IBM SW alliance has further advanced these projects. Its good to remember that the "past" was not so long ago. Prior to 2002 when we launched Opteron to the world there were very few places for us to interact with enterprise software vendors at all, much less IBM.

After comparing this to the past, I can confidently say that the future looks very bright for customers thanks to the current and future work of the AMD/IBM Software alliance.

Today AMD and IBM are on center stage at IBM's Software University. IBM's Software University is the GIANT of trade shows I have ever been to. From what I am told, IBM dominates Las Vegas for this show and their logistics are amazing. IBM SWU brings in all of the IBM Sales/Marketing/Sales Engineering folks to a central place and trains them. I am talking Hard Core training here. This is a place where breakfast starts at 6AM and sessions start at 7:30AM (translate that into - No Partying, Gambling or other tomfoolery).

We have done a lot of work to get here especially considering our relationship is primarily based on AMD's tangible performance and innovation, and not on our checkbook. IBM has been an amazing partner to work with and I happen to think that comes from our shared interest in the end-user and defining strategy that benefits end-users.

I included this picture below to show you a little about what IBM SWU looks and feels like. You need to imagine a little since my pictures don't do it justice. This room is FILLED with IBM and IBM Business Partners and at some points the enthusiasm is just overwhelming. Joe Menard (our SW chieftain) were at one point confused about whether we were in a rock concert or a SW conference. Clearly this event and the relationship IBM has with its partners (like AMD) is something to be very excited about ;-)