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As I write this, some value-added reseller of IBM's iSeries computers is looking for a customer willing to trade in some NT servers for an IBM midrange system. It's not that these resellers wouldn't ordinarily be doing that, but these days, there's an added incentive: Buell Duncan, general manager of IBM's former AS/400 product unit, stood up before a few hundred partners at IBM PartnerWorld 2002, held last month in San Francisco, and offered two free first-class airline tickets anywhere in the world to the first partner who can close such a deal. "I will leave this open until June, but I am sure you will do it before the end of March," he joked, referring to the close of IBM's first quarter.
Such is the sense of urgency permeating through the IBM organization these days. Maybe it's the impending arrival of Sam Palmisano, IBM's new president and CEO. At PartnerWorld, the atmosphere was one of "Let's make a deal." A few thousand business partners gathered with what seemed like an equal number of IBM...