By Simon Quicke
7 August 2008
IBM has announced a tie-up with Novell, Red Hat and Canonical/Ubuntu to promote Linux in response to what is perceived to be a weakness in Microsoft’s hold on the desktop market.
The vendors are working together to encourage value added distributors to build pre-loaded PCs that include IBM's Open Collaboration Client Solution, which comprises Lotus Notes, Symphony Sametime plus the a Linux operating system of the distributor’s choice.
There is an option for the final product to be branded by the resellers that bring it to market.
Novell has already been running a similar scheme with Avnet in the UK based on IBM’s software and its SuseLinux product.
In a recent interview with MicroScope UK and Ireland general manager Jacqueline de Rojas said that customers were looking for an alternative to Microsoft.
“Linux and open source has finally come of age and is ready for some big commercial installations,” she says that verticals that are showing interest include the financial and retail areas,” she said.
Adam Jollans, world wide Linux and open source executive at IBM, said that Vista’s adoption by business had been slow and it had been pushing alternatives but now it had teamed up with four other vendors it could be more assertive.
“There are various factors that are [in our favour][ one is the slow uptake of Vista by business customers, another is the growth of demand for Linux notebooks and a third is the number of software applications available,” he said.
He added that it believed that when the amount of desktops that were using Linux in the corporate world reached the level of 10% it would cause more customers to look at the software.
