| IBM partners accelerate migration to Linux |
Mar. 16, 2004
IBM says that new partners and programs are helping accelerate Linux adoption and growth among small- to medium-sized businesses. They report a jump in the number of partners supporting Linux and participating in the company's Linux-related programs.
Six weeks since introducing the 'NT-to-Linux Migration Program,' IBM claims that number of companies joining the program has grown 55 percent, from 20 to 45. Over 200 Linux-friendly ISVs are now part of the company's Advantage program, with 70 percent of the program participants reportedly "supporting or committed to supporting Linux."
Big Blue maintains that the discontinuation of Windows NT security patches by the end of 2004, will "require up to two million customers to develop a migration strategy." The company estimates that over 50,000 Windows NT servers have been migrated to Linux already in 2004.
To further demonstrate increased interest in Linux, IBM said that the number of Business Partners qualifying for their Leaders for Linux initiative more than doubled, from 75 to more than 200 in the past year. Organizations in this program can be eligible to "keep 60 percent of the margins they earn when they sell IBM software that runs on Linux. These margins are designed to assist IBM partners so they can continue to fund increased investments in their Linux solutions to keep up with accelerating customer demand."
IBM Business Partners are entitled to incentives like co-marketing resources and dollars, sales incentives, and access to fifteen Linux Porting Centers worldwide in return for pledging support for Linux.
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