It appears that selling out of Hogan Systems Inc and seeking a buyer for its stake in Policy Management Systems Inc may be just the tip of the iceberg as far as dismantling IBM Corp’s alliances is concerned: the Gannett News Service, news-gathering arm for USA Today reported Friday that hundreds of business alliances between IBM and other companies may be altered or scrapped as part of IBM’s effort to slash operating costs; IBM was not commenting, but chairman Louis Gerstner and his top lieutenants are said to be busy picking winners and losers among IBM’s 500-plus worldwide alliances, in which it has invested about $5,000m; it is clearly hard work though – So far, Gerstner’s team has identified 12 winners and 12 losers, says the wire, citing as winners Prodigy, the on-line information-services joint venture between IBM and Sears Roebuck & Co; winners can expect to receive continuing financial backing; as for the dozen losers, IBM is said to be moving to dissolve those relationships as quickly as possible, eight of the 12 on the losers’ list have been informed, including a banking software company – that would be Hogan Systems; the remaining 450-plus fall into what some at IBM are calling the grey area, meaning their long-term fate is uncertain, and they include Taligent Inc, the wire reports – it says some IBM watchers speculate that IBM might eventually squash the project, which is costing the firm about $4m a month to sustain.
