If the Linux play doesn't pay off, things could get ugly. So the Linux backers are talking up Linux with as much energy as Microsoft is talking it down. And that gives us bargaining power, too. If IBM wants to sell us Linux, we've got a choice. Sure it does.
Hard bargaining is like that.
And the fact that you can walk away from any vendor's table is your strongest bargaining chip in cutting the best deal. Right now, Linux is generating a lot of competition. For IT shops, that's all good. And the best part about it is, we don't even have to like Linux. We don't even have to trust it to survive on its own.