“On November 2, IBM announced a deal with Japanese retailer
Lawson to install and help maintain approximately 15,000 servers
preloaded with Linux. … According to Steve Solazzo, IBM’s VP for
Linux strategy and marketing, the rollout will begin very soon and
be “substantially completed” by March of next year.”
“The Lawson deal is certainly a big deal, but is this just a
one-time partnership between IBM and Linux? Solazzo says no. He
believes that “over the next six months, [IBM] will have a
series of announcements in which large customers will be making
significant commitments to Linux. We think the time is now for
enterprise customers to make these commitments.”
“Does the Lawson/IBM/Linux deal mean the debut of Linux in the
major league retail market? Burlington Coat Factory has rolled out
Linux servers to a couple of hundred stores. Home Depot is rumored
to be working on a Linux-based replacement for its Windows POS
system. But this deal far exceeds the scope of any previous Linux
use in the enterprise.”