MESSAGE
| DATE | 2006-03-08 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] Desktop Promise at IBM
|
IBM Switches Linux Desktops, But Isn't Dumping Windows
(URL:
http://www.crn.com/sections/breakingnews/dailyarchives.jhtml?articleId=181502156)
By Antone Gonsalves,
3:01 PM EST Wed. Mar. 08, 2006
IBM employees using Linux desktops are switching to Red Hat Inc.'s
version of the open-source operating system, but the company denied
reports that it's planning to dump Microsoft Corp.'s Windows, a company
spokeswoman said Wednesday.
The number of Linux users within the Armonk, N.Y., company is about 5
percent of IBM's 329,000 employees, spokeswoman Nancy Kaplan said. The
workers include software developers and designers, people configuring
software and hardware bundles for customers and others who need to use
Linux as part of their jobs.
"The Linux plan is for people who have a need for Linux, as part of
their jobs, will use it," Kaplan said. "We have not made Linux available
to the general employee population and there are no plans to do that."
IBM started standardizing on Red Hat's Enterprise Linux product last
year, after signing a deal in which the Linux distributor would provide
support, Kaplan said. IBM does not plan to switch employees currently
using Windows to Red Hat.
Andreas Pleschek, head of open source and Linux technical sales across
Northeast Europe, was erroneously quoted this week as saying IBM had
cancelled its Windows contract with Microsoft as of October, and did not
intend to upgrade to Vista, the next major upgrade of the operating
system, Kaplan said.
The posting on blog Groklaw also said IBM employees would start using
IBM Workplace, the company's business collaboration software, on Linux
desktops in July.
Kaplan confirmed that Workplace is being rolled out companywide, but
said it will run on both Red Hat and Windows. Because of their jobs,
Linux users have the most immediate need for Workplace, so they will be
the first to get the software.
As to whether IBM would upgrade to Vista, the company was in the process
of evaluating the OS and had not made a decision, Kaplan said.
IBM has a policy to use open standards in all its internal technology,
whenever possible. For open-source software, the company advises
customers to use it to replace commodity products, and to use
proprietary software in areas requiring specialized applications,
according to Pleschek's presentation this week at LinuxForum 2006 in
Copenhagen, Denmark.
The company, however, has a history of supporting open-source software.
In 1998, it announced it would integrate the Apache Web server into its
Websphere application server; and in 2000, IBM said it would invest $1
billion in Linux. A total of 650 IBM employees work on various open
source development communities, including Linux and Apache.
Asked if IBM would ever expand its use of Linux on the desktop, Kaplan
said, "We just don't know."
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