internetnews.com: IBM Prep Linux Package for SMBs

“Seeking to fill what it perceives as a gap in the marketplace,
IBM Thursday rolled out a new Linux package for developers of the
open-source operating system at its DeveloperWorks Live! 2003 show
in New Orleans.

“IBM Integrated Platform Express, a combination of the Armonk,
N.Y. firm’s hardware servers and application server and database
software, is intended to lure Big Blue’s resellers and independent
software vendors (ISVs) to use it to write Linux applications that
they may sell to their own customers in the mid-sized market. They
may also simply test new applications with it.

“The SMB market segment is one some research firms believe is
particularly hungry for Linux: Gartner estimates some 45 percent of
mid-sized businesses are using or experimenting with Linux. This
makes sense because Linux is universally viewed as a cost-effective
OS and SMBs are typically constrained by small budgets. Still,
Microsoft’s Windows OS remains the entrenched brand despite
frequent attempts by Linux evangelists to hold sway over developers
and companies…”

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