To quash speculation about the future of the mid-range AS/400 and the RS/6000 servers IBM Corp says it is once again restructuring its sales teams to end the traditional rivalry between the divisions and sell ‘customer-focused’ business systems through a team that crosses the hardware borders. The teams will be grouped under two main headings, one for applications such as business intelligence or ERP enterprise resource planning, and the other to ‘align itself with the market’ and look at the gamut of midrange and high end offerings by industry sector. IBM claims sales people will be properly incentivized to sell the best hardware for the requirement, thereby ending the traditional AS/400 versus RS/6000 rivalry. Sales jobs will go in the shake- up, but IBM says overall it will grow rather than shrink direct sales, and increase its channel partners. AS/400 and RS/6000 will be around for the foreseeable future, it says.
