I realize that to many in IBM, IGF is a bit of a “fifth wheel” behind product and services sales. Nevertheless, we are often the key sales enabler in a deal and another relationship point with the client.
However, the decision to bar IGF from financing OEM, even trivial amounts, in multi vendor deals is driving clients to use other finance companies.
“So what?”, you might ask.
Well, it’s not just a loss for IGF: it’s also a loss for IBM. When IGF loses a multimillion million deal from a long-standing customer to HP finance just because we cannot include $25K of another vendor’s x86 servers, all we are doing is opening the door to the next sale being made by HP and not IBM. They and others will soon be eating IBM’s lunch.
Do AK, JK and SB (in inverse order of giving an eff) not realize this or do they just not care about protecting IBM’s footprint? Or IGF?
In addition to gutting IGF’s ability to effectively compete, this policy seriously affects IGFers’ morale, not to mention incomes. Honestly, the other captives are looking more attractive as winning deals is infinitely more satisfying than head-office orchestrated failure. Not that senior management worries about that either.
Am I stuck in the past, are my thoughts irrelevant in AK’s new IBM? Or do I just need to go back and drink more hybrid cloud kool-aid.