Client-poaching costs IBM $1.6 billion in software case involving AT&T
International Business Machines Corp. must pay $1.6 billion to BMC Software Inc. for swapping in its own software while servicing their mutual client AT&T Corp., a federal judge ruled.
U.S. District Judge Gray Miller in Houston on Monday rejected IBM’s claim that it acquired the mainframe software account of one of BMC’s core customers, Dallas-based AT&T, fair and square. Miller awarded damages based on his earlier determination that IBM’s role in AT&T’s decision to dump BMC “smacked of intentional wrongdoing.” His ruling came after a seven-day non-jury trial in March.
The judgment is one of the largest ever to arise from a commercial dispute, Sean Gorman, a partner with Bracewell LLP who represented BMC in the case, said in a statement.
While IBM has moved toward cloud and artificial intelligence services in recent years, mainframes are still an important part of its information technology portfolio. The Armonk, N.Y., company unveiled a new mainframe model in April, reflecting the continued relevance of the decades-old computing systems even amid growing cloud adoption.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/business/technology/2022/06/01/client-poaching-costs-ibm-16-billion-in-software-case-involving-att/
