“IBM Corp.’s senior vice president and software chief spoke with
CRN Senior Editor Edward F. Moltzen on a range of topics including
the company’s strategies for e-business and Linux.”
“CRN: With the Linux announcement earlier this
year, there were suggestions that IBM believes Linux is now the
platform of the Internet. Is it, or is Windows the platform of the
Internet?”
“Thompson: I debate that Windows has the market
share of the Internet. They have a lot of volume in terms of
counting servers. The real business of the Internet is done on a
Unix-based system and even some mainframes where the real heavy
work is performed.”
“Linux is very big with ISPs and ASPs, and companies that are
providing services on the Internet. We’re starting to see it creep
into commercial customer [accounts], but it’s in the early stages.
In some cases, it’s being bootlegged into customers, in other cases
as a development platform. … I think [Linux is] going to be a
viable commercial system. We’ve chosen to move all of our
middleware to a Linux base. Notes, Domino, Websphere, MQ
[Series],our entire line of middleware software has not only been
ported to Linux but exploits Linux. You’ll see us continuing to
invest in it. …”