IBM still designs their own silicon.
They still make chips in the POWER architecture and the Z architecture for mainframes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POWER9
They still make chips in the POWER architecture and the Z architecture for mainframes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/POWER9
IBM had the technical chops to create the likes of ARM, nVidia, or any number of big tech companies. They just never seemed to have the leadership capabilities to get out of their comfort zone. I understand the idea of keeping a business focused, but Alphabet and MS don't seem to struggle with managing a diverse portfolio of companies.
In the context of the thread, it's reasonable to say that both at 22 and 45 IBM had strong leadership (Watson Sr.) that successfully managed a diverse group of subsidiaries. Although in neither case are there any products like a modern digital computer involved.
Also doing business in Europe in the 1930s doesn’t mean that’s when they expanded. That business could have been decades old by then.
Some quick reading of the history of IBM and subsidiaries suggests they were doing business in Europe by the 1920s.
I suppose a z15 LinuxONE cloud offering would be attractive for them to offer because of all the built in observability, and also because those cores can be ridiculously oversubscribed before anyone notices.
As for pricing, they wouldn't need to pay their margins unless they eat into their other segments.
Full vertical integration isn't necessarily good business. Even Apple doesn't do its own manufacturing.