That's Dan Frye's article, and it is um, a little Dan Frye-centric. He was a legitimately important contributor to IBM's technology management team around Linux and open source, especially as and after IBM made the turn.

But it reads as if he called the shot and piloted the turn. That is not my recollection or understanding. Other folks contributed as much or more to driving the Linux/open source pivot. Irving Wladawsky-Berger, the late Scott Handy, _et al_. It's IBM, so there were a ton of folks involved and contributing.

My source: I was an industry analyst and consultant in the server / system software space at the time, and I was in at least a few of the rooms where it happened.