Dear IBM And Red Hat Customers . . .
Since IBM’s announced intention to purchase Red Hat for $34 billion, Forrester analysts have received a number of inquiries about the potential acquisition. Outside of our previously published thoughts, we find it unwise to speculate on IBM and Red Hat’s future plans.
That said, Forrester has published five Forrester Wave™ evaluations that compare existing products between the two companies in key areas. We have been culling through the data and believe it is a valuable resource for customers of both companies to determine where redundancies might exist.
Note: While IBM and Red Hat do have products that compete in several technology segments, no product or business strategy alignment plans have been released by either vendor, and we don’t expect them to be made publicly available for months. In the interim, if your plans for 2019 include evaluating, piloting, testing, or implementing any of the products below prior to the deal’s approval and closing, we strongly advise you to check in with your IBM and Red Hat account managers to determine whether any product guidance is available or when it will be. Don’t hesitate to reach out to both companies or to your analyst team at Forrester — we can help you determine whether or not it makes sense to narrow your shortlist or adjust your evaluation criteria in any of these technology categories.
In terms of product comparisons:
- In Randy Heffner’s “The Forrester Wave™: API Management Solutions, Q4 2018,” Forrester compared IBM API Connect with Red Hat 3scale API Management. IBM was a Leader in this Wave, while Red Hat was a Contender.
- In John Rymer and Dave Bartoletti’s “The Forrester Wave™:Development-Only Public Cloud Platforms, North America, Q2 2018,” Forrester compared IBM Cloud with Red Hat OpenShift. IBM was a Strong Performer in this Wave, while Red Hat was a Contender.
- In John Rymer and Mike Gualtieri’s “The Forrester New Wave™: Digital Decisioning Platforms, Q4 2018,” Forrester compared the IBM Automation Platform for Digital Business with Red Hat Process Automation Manager. IBM was a Strong Performer, while Red Hat was a Challenger.
- In Dave Bartoletti and Charlie Dai’s “The Forrester New Wave™: Enterprise Container Platform Software Suites, Q4 2018,” Forrester compared IBM Cloud Private and Red Hat OpenShift. Red Hat was a Leader, while IBM was a Strong Performer.
- In Noel Yuhanna’s “The Forrester Wave™: Enterprise Data Virtualization, Q4 2017,” Forrester compared IBM’s various Db2 and analytics offerings with Red Hat JBoss Data Virtualization. IBM was a Leader, while Red Hat was a Strong Performer.
We hope this proves to be a useful starting position for those tasked to compare IBM and Red Hat products. As we move forward, Forrester will of course provide analysis as more details of this acquisition come to light.