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The 25 most powerful people in networking

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John Patrick, vice president of Internet technology,
IBM

J. PatrickWhatever mistakes IBM has made in its 88-year history, it has redeemed itself in the eyes of the Internet, thanks in large part to John Patrick.

Ask any network manager to name the top three enterprise-level e-commerce servers, and you'll hear IBM's Net.Commerce, followed by an "Ummm?" and a shrug. For that mind share, Patrick has earned himself an armload of power.

Patrick, though, is the company's visionary in all things Internet at IBM, not just Net.Commerce. He helped IBM embrace Java by preaching cooperation with rival Sun, rather than following Microsoft's path of modifying Java. He is also the internal Internet guru, constructing IBM's Get Connected Program. Get Connected prescribes how IBM employees should use the Internet and functions as a model for the Internet services it sells.

A founding member of the World Wide Web Consortium, Patrick is known internationally for his ideas on what the Internet can become. Washington has recognized this. He is involved with Next Generation Internet Task Force, a government-led initiative to build the next, high-speed internetwork. He is also the chairman of the Global Internet Project, a private-sector gaggle of international executives interested in the Internet's ongoing development.

Patrick promises to continue bolstering IBM's presence (and power) as an Internet player. He's vowed that IBM will forge partnerships so it can sell a wider variety of e-business software products and strengthen its position in the standards-based Internet world. We'll see if Patrick has the power to make good on that promise, given the weird open vs. closed dichotomy that characterizes IBM's culture.

Related links

John Patrick's Web site

IBM exec urges future business leaders to capitalize on Internet II
Network World, 10/29/99


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