After acquisition by IBM, can Red Hat retain its distinct identity?

After acquisition by IBM, Red Hat is working to retain its innovative streak and identity while leveraging the former's size and footprint

For decades, IBM and Red Hat collaborated on open source. But when Red Hat was acquired by IBM — the deal was inked last year and closed three months ago — a fundamental question arose: While Red Hat is hoping to ride on IBM’s market capabilities and size to achieve faster growth, won’t there be channel conflict? Can Red Hat retain its innovativeness or for that matter its distinct identity as part of a larger enterprise? Will it be able to negotiate the complexities of a broader ecosystem and leverage it to its advantage? 

The Raleigh, North Carolina-headquartered Red Hat, which