IBM in US probe over claims it unfairly abused dominance
IBM, the computer hardware giant, is facing a US Department of Justice (DoJ) investigation over allegations it abused its dominance of the mainframe market to squeeze out its rivals.
The anti-competition probe was announced yesterday by Ed Black, chairman of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), which had urged the DoJ to step in.
The CCIA says IBM stopped offering its operating systems to customers that chose to buy mainframes – large computer servers – from its competitors.
It did this in retaliation against their disloyalty for shifting to non-IBM hardware, the CCIA alleges.
IBM also bundled its mainframe operating systems with its own hardware, squeezing out other software firms that should be allowed to compete on IBM platforms, the CCIA also claims.
The non-profit trade group counts software giants Microsoft and Oracle, but not IBM, as members.
IBMpointed out that a similar case involving software developer T3 Technologies was dismissed by a USDistrict court “just last week”.