IBM delivers Lotus Notes for Linux PCs

ARMONK: IBM

announced the availability of IBM Lotus notes on Linux,

the industry's first business-grade collaboration software to support Linux on

the desktop. Lotus Notes on Linux now provides millions of Lotus Notes users

worldwide with software that enables an open desktop alternative to proprietary

desktop operating systems.

The openness and flexibility of the Linux desktop combined with widespread

availability of server software running on Linux has increased demand for tested

and market-proven, desktop applications such as Lotus Notes. For the first time,

IBM is delivering business-grade e-mail, group scheduling and thousands of

high-value Notes applications that run on the Linux desktop. Combined with

server support for Intel and mainframe Linux, IBM now offers end-to-end support

for Linux on the Lotus Notes and Domino 7 collaboration platform.

According to a recent survey

of 400 developers who have worked or are currently working with Open Source

software, Linux is expected to surpass Windows as the primary operating system

for developing applications. With today's announcement, customers will be able

to take advantage of the same security, flexibility and reliability benefits on

the desktop now obtained by running Linux on the server.

In addition to addressing Linux customer demand, the arrival of Lotus Notes

on Linux presents a new level of opportunity for the hundreds of IBM Business

Partners who implement Linux e-mail and collaboration, and develop Linux-based

applications.

"IBM Lotus Notes on Linux lends credibility to our mission of delivering

open-based technology to customers," said Avinash Singh, Chief Operating

Officer, Birlasoft. "Our practice helps IBM customers take advantage of

this open world by securing the porting and testing of current applications

safely so they work across a variety of platforms. IBM's use of the Eclipse

framework as a client development platform brings significant value to our

customers and it allows us to create customized solutions efficiently and

cost-effectively."

As of today, the expanding base of Linux users will be able to run Lotus

Notes 7 on Linux. The underlying Eclipse technology is also being used in the

upcoming version of Lotus Notes, code-named 'Hannover.' The open-source Eclipse

platform enables vendors to write desktop software that works across operating

systems, without the extra work of recoding, and is the same technology being

used by the IBM Lotus Sametime client.

Linux users can now experience the Lotus Notes 7 collaboration platform which

includes more than 100 new and existing features to help manage an increasing

volume of information and work more efficiently.