Middleware and operating system divisions are important for our valuation of IBM as these have the highest EBITDA margins at 48%.

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Klein hopes to kick-start the trend today with the biggest technology release in the company's history, including new versions of its operating system, middleware and development suite.

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The idea, says Buell Duncan III , IBM's general manager for ISV and developer relations, is to create a network of companies large and small, which are conversant in both nonproprietary, or open, computing standards, like the Linux operating system or the Java programming language, and IBM's suite of hardware, middleware and services.

FORBES: Magazine Article