“IBM is offering special deals for mainframe hardware and
software in an effort to reduce the obstacles for using Linux on
the traditional computers.”
“The effort comes amid troubled times for the venerable
mainframe technology. While mainframe sales are sagging, Linux has
garnered the attention of IBM and most of the other biggest
computing companies.”
“Big Blue has embarked on an effort to bring Linux to its S/390
mainframes.”
“IBM argues that some customers will find the mixture
advantageous because they can run Web sites on Linux with
high-speed connections to databases and other back-end services
that run on mainframes. Another target market is application
service providers (ASPs), companies that host complex software for
clients who don’t want to do it themselves, said Pete McCaffrey,
program director for S/390.”