IBM’s Lessons From Linux: You Can’t Control It

IBM today may be thought of as one of the key contributors to a number of high-profile Linux and open source projects, but ten years ago, when the company was just dipping a toe into the open source world, it was a far different story. It took some time — and several mistakes — for Big Blue to understand how best to work with a wider community of developers.

IBM’s Dan Frye takes a trip down memory lane to look at where IBM went wrong in its early approach to Linux, what it learned, and how businesses can apply those lessons internally.

Ten years ago, IBM had a single mission for Linux: Make it better. Now in 2010, IBM (NYSE:IBM) has a decade of experience in working to do just that, and is sharing its knowledge about how companies and developers can better participate in the Linux community.

Speaking in a keynote session at the Linux Foundation’s Collaboration Summit, Dan Frye, vice president of open system development at IBM, provided his insights into some do’s and don’t when trying to work with Linux.

For IBM, one of the hardest lessons it had to learn was one about control. Mainly, there is none.

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You Can’t Control Linux