Before we open-software aficionados get all misty-eyed, I need to point out that Gerstner didn't actually mention Microsoft. He talked very specifically about Sun and "other Unix vendors." I still believe he was clearly taking a swing at Microsoft, but didn't want to mention the company by name. Outside of the Linux platform, Gerstner's IBM has a stable of proprietary operating systems that puts the rest of the industry to shame. So instead of directly chiding Microsoft, he mentioned that "some" estimate Linux could overtake Windows NT/2000 by 2004. Makes ya wonder who "some" might be, huh?

Nonetheless, Gerstner sidestepped IBM's proprietary propensity and discussed the company's pending billion-dollar investment in Linux, as well as bragging about IBM's short-term plans for Linux. Those plans include the world's largest Linux cluster to date; it's for Shell Oil for analyzing seismic data. How interesting, I thought, as I read that IBM, still one of the largest and most respected companies in the world, needs Linux more than Linux needs IBM.

Of course, Linux is getting something from its relationship with IBM. Many doors to the largest corporate data centers were locked to Linux, but now IBM is opening those doors. The value to the Linux community is a wider array of software and even more smart minds contributing to the greater good. For IBM, Linux represents a chance to change the variables of an equation that has -- until now -- left the company with some rather stagnant growth.

As anyone with a TV can tell you, IBM wants desperately to be the company that provides solutions for e-commerce. In fact, for a good many IBM customers, the company delivers wonderfully on that promise. Those customers, however, are generally won on the strength of IBM's Global Services Consulting group, not on the strength of the company's software or hardware. What IBM hopes is that it can take Sun down a notch or two by embracing Linux and becoming the high-performance alternative to running Linux on the Intel-powered flavor of the day.

The strategy has some merit. Linux has a built-in following, and as is apparent in the company's ad campaign, IBM will not make the marketing mistake it did with OS/2. As IBM continues to strengthen other offerings, like storage arrays, and as Linux continues to seep its way into the Fortune 1,000, there will indeed be a call for platforms other than the usual Intel servers found in the lineups from Compaq, Dell and even IBM. As a result, IBM doesn't always need to lead with its professional services, and a few more doors will open. It'll be interesting to see if this strategy works. "Some" may indeed be right come 2004.