IBM Bringing Linux to SMBs

IBM is aligning itself with the leading names in Linux to expand open-source adoption among SMBs.Plans call for Linux distributors Canonical/Ubuntu, Novell and Red Hat to bundle Linux with IBM Lotus' Open Collaboration Client Solution, which includes Lotus Notes, Lotus Symphony and Lotus Sametime. Those bundles will then be offered to PC makers to sell with their desktop products. In addition, Big Blue will offer Linux appliances based on its Lotus Foundations line that incorporate a preconfigured version of Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10. Those appliances will be aimed at companies with five to 500 employees -- the same market as Microsoft's Small Business Server package. Products are due out sometime next year.

For channel partners, IBM unveiled the ISV Software Appliance Initiative for delivering Linux software appliances to midmarket customers, as well as a toolkit that simplifies the packaging of Domino applications for the Lotus Foundations appliance. "Because this is a software appliance, these applications can be deployed into environments that may not have on-site Domino administrators," said Kevin Cavanaugh, VP of IBM Lotus Software, in a statement.ChannelWeb