ZDnet: Linux moves into the mainstream Posted August 28, 2001 by Linux-2000 Staff

Stephen Shankland, CNET News.com


IBM to announce new customers using Linux as part of a push to show that the operating system is no longer on the edge of the market Updating the love it has for Linux, IBM will argue on Tuesday that the relatively new operating system has begun fulfilling its potential as mainstream customers build serious servers with it.

IBM, which has pledged to spend $1bn on the Unix clone this year, will announce several new customers using Linux at a news conference at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo, said Ross Mauri, vice president of development in IBM server group. In addition, Big Blue will announce its Websphere e-commerce software now works on a mainframe running Linux.

"Linux is no longer on the edge. It is moving into the mainline," Mauri said.

Among the new customers is Securities Industry Automation, which will use Linux on an IBM mainframe to run accounting software that lets stockbrokers check whether buy and sell orders on the New York and American stock exchanges really took place. The system, which went into use a month ago, formerly ran on servers from IBM rival Sun Microsystems.

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