written by SystemAdmin)
I just opened my email to this news. I’ll reserve any truly negative comments from the forums (for now), but I’ve got to say we are greatly DISPLEASED by this news.
(imported comment written by MattBoyd)
Personally, I would have preferred a press release that was more like the one that Woot had yesterday…
http://www.woot.com/Blog/ViewEntry.aspx?Id=13390
I think a lot of us are a bit nervous right now, but I’ll remain
cautiously
optimistic until we get more details…
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
Same here…our company has a long history with IBM and Tivoli…this is truly depressing news.
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
(imported comment written by Tingram91)
BigFix seems very excited about the events, but I hold reservations and concerns until the dust settles.
My company and the various organizations I help manage this product for have concerns with the future of the product.
The Tivoli and BigFix products might produce similar results, the difference in the technology to obtain those are vast.
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
Boyd - We too are trying to remain optimistic but I just keep seeing a half empty glass, not a half full one.
Tingram - You stated “BigFix seems very excited about the events” - where did you gather that from - the press release or discussions with BigFix - just curious.
(imported comment written by BenKus)
Hey folks,
I just wanted to say that we are indeed very much excited by this news…
There are a lot of reasons that this move makes sense for BigFix and for IBM because we actually end up fitting together very well:
- They don’t really have a product like ours and they certainly have lots of other products that we don’t that will work well together.
- We actually share a lot of the same customers and target customers and so when it comes time to go through procurement and buy, renew, or add to BigFix, most companies will find it easier since they already buy other things from IBM.
But another element here that might affect you guys more directly is that the key reason that IBM made this acquisition is that they believe in our technology and our product. We have been talking with them for a while and they certainly say that they want to build on our product and make it flourish… You guys have seen on the forum that there is a lot we would like to do (new features, adding new Fixlet sites, etc), but as a small company, it is always hard to grow fast enough because we just don’t have the resources (hire enough people, get the right computers to test on, etc.) IBM certainly has resources that they can put behind us…
One more thing is that as it stands now, we all (including the people you have seen from BigFix on the forum) intend to stay at IBM and continue to work just as we have been doing before.
Ben
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
Ben Kus
we are indeed very much exited
Ben, I know I am taking your typo and quote out of context, but it made me laugh, in light of the situation and our feelings on the aquisition. Thanks for that!
And while I don’t want to argue the reasons BigFix finds this so attractive and a great opportunity, I can only reiterate that as a long time customer (@ 2 different companies - both times bringing BigFix in house) there is not much good we can see in this. If you had acquired a company I’d be very excited or if BigFix had been acquired by a company that specialized in another area that BigFix did not.
Edit note: My typo was deliberate or at least that is my story…
(imported comment written by rmnetops91)
Two things IBM can do to kill BigFix:
#1 Start charging by cpu core and model like their Tivoli PVU licensing BS.
#2 Reprogram BigFix to be Java based. Most IBM products are Java based, and they are all resource pigs (IMO).
(imported comment written by BenKus)
Oops on the typo (i fixed it… and i see jspanitz did it too in the last line of his note :))…
I don’t have any comment on pricing, but I will say that the same people who built, support, update, and service BigFix will continue to be around for quite a while…
Certainly I can’t be sure of the future, but to the extent that we have a voice in the outcome of our product strategy and how we can deliver new and cool stuff to you guys (and the early indications are that we do), we will continue to advocate for the same type of decisions as before when we were stand-alone BigFix.
Ben
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
rmnetops
Reprogram BigFix to be Java based
Agreed. IBM loves JAVA and JAVA hates running. If they start going that direct, we will drop them. I can see them trying to make the console java, oh what a fine day that will be.
(imported comment written by Ashwin.D91)
Was extremely surprised but not pleasantly to hear the news…
We can all only wait and see how it plays out… but I would have loved to see BigFix progress as a standalone company…
(imported comment written by jocelyn91)
Sad news indeed. As we were getting up to speed with this great product…
My educated bet on what will happen: BigFix will slowly but surely be forced into the great “corporate” offering. Any product personality will be killed, it will be “integrated” in the “great” Tivoli family, licensing fees will become barely acceptable, deployment will start being complex, management will require professional services.
So to me and to most customers this is not a good deal. I am pretty sure BigFix shareholders are getting good money though.
Well, it looks like this is the way business is done today. Entrepreneurs with ideas and skills build great products, big companies with no brain and big money buy them out.
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
We have had experience with IBM purchasing other software vendors and it has been a decidedly negative experience.
As already stated, please keep Java away from BigFix.
Is there any word on weather the impending purchase will delay the release of BES 8? There are many features we have been eagerly awaiting and would hate to see further delays.
(imported comment written by ITO_Security91)
As an Authorized Partner of Bigfix for Singapore and Malaysia, my customers are concerned if license cost will be implicated as they are on subscription basis. I hope Bigfix’s management will address this after the acquistion is completed.
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
BrianK
We have had experience with IBM purchasing other software vendors and it has been a decidedly negative experience.
What negative changes happened to those other vendors?
As far as I know, many of the developers are planning on staying with BigFix as it becomes part of IBM. I doubt that we’ll be able to influence their pricing decisions, but we can hopefully influence what changes are made to the product. What don’t you like about other Tivoli products that you’d like to see BigFix avoid? What have you seen happen to other vendors purchased by IBM that you don’t want to happen to BigFix?
p.s. I don’t want the product to be Java based either.
(imported comment written by jefister91)
OMG :o! Go away on vacation and look what happens. I am truly disappointed, as I was hoping that BigFix, when acquired, would be wtih a company that did not have any similar product. Tivoli was my first introduction to Enterprise Software Management and it was not pretty. I do hope that IBM realizes what a good product BigFix is and leaves it alone.
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
I just wonder what goes through a company’s mind when they make these decisions. Why not poll their user community and see what they think about this merger (perhaps the majority, which have not chimed in on the forums, are in support of this). Why not do what your customers want.
Jefister, I agree, we would like to have seen an acquisition or merger with a company that had dissimilar products, so that the product offering would have been more complete. IBM will kill the product as we know it today - I’ll take bets on that. IBM loves java and has moved their entire product line to that language. We’re in for an eye opening ride, that is for sure.
(imported comment written by MattBoyd)
Whatever happens, I hope they keep this user forum around. I do not have any reason to believe they won’t, but it seems to be worth mentioning. For me, the forum has been the most important part of my success using BigFix. Thanks to all the intelligent people that post here, I have learned things through this forum that no book, class, or support call could accurately or efficiently supplement. I know all of our BES operators have used it as well, and one of our first recommendations to anyone with a question is to search the forum and Bigfix support website. Please IBM, keep this valuable tool alive!
(imported comment written by SystemAdmin)
BigFix is an amazing product - and it was a matter of time before someone recognized the potential BF has to “ruling the world” and scoffed them up. In my opinion - I am very thankful it wasn’t Symantec, CA, McAfee - and a whole big list of companies that would of decimated BigFix for certain.
As everyone I too have concerns - especially after seeing how IBM hurt the ISS brand (but they didn’t kill ISS). But I have to agree with Ben that IBM has a lot of power and potential to make the BigFix universe stronger. And I figure if the logo goes away - all my BigFix swag I have collected in 7 years will go up in value…
Cheers,
Mike