Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

IBM's announced contribution of 500 software patents — royalty free — to the open source community is a response to CEO Sam Palmisano's public call for IBM and other firms to ditch proprietary innovation models in favor of what Forrester calls global Software Innovation Networks. This first step of opening up IBM's own intellectual property for use in open standards — covering software protocols, file formats, and interfaces — continues IBM's shift from technology vendor to high-end business solutions provider. IBM's move also speeds the commoditization of basic software elements — like OS and database functions — and increases the odds that IBM inventions in evolving markets will become de facto standards on top of which IBM's higher-level business innovations can be delivered.

Buy Risk-Free

Download and print PDF immediately. Price: US $199

Our Money-Back Guarantee: If you are not completely satisfied, return it for a full refund within three weeks of your online purchase.

Already a Forrester Client?
Log in to read this document.