IBM Offers New Migration Kit for Solaris to Linux

IBM today launched a new Migration Kit for Solaris to Linux designed to make it easier for customers to migrate from Solaris to Linux on multiple platforms.

The new no charge Migration Kit for Solaris to Linux supports any IBM eServer or System including Linux on Power, Linux on Intel-based and AMD-based servers and blades and Linux on the mainframe. IBM is the only vendor that gives customers the flexibility to run Linux workloads on the platform best suited to their needs.

The Migration Kit will be made available to IBM Business Partners, Independent Software Vendors and customers to help assist assessing and migrating Solaris C/C++ applications from Solaris SPARC to Linux on IBM Systems. The toolkit is downloadable at no-charge from IBM's website.

IBM's new PartnerWorld Linux portal will now provide IBM Business Partners with a single, simple to use Web resource where they can quickly access Linux migration initiatives, training, and technical support from IBM's Software, Hardware, and Services Groups. The site also includes IBM promotions and incentives to reward IBM Business Partners supporting Linux solutions. It offers Business Partners the opportunity to network with IBM and the growing Linux community through forums, Blogs, Wikis, and IBM-hosted networking programs and events.

"We've made tremendous progress since launching our Solaris to Linux Migration program with Red Hat in May and have decided to extend it with free tools for our ISVs and Resellers to help IBM capitalize on the growing customer interest and sheer volume of migration opportunities," said Scott Handy, vice president of Worldwide Linux and Open Source for IBM. "IBM's migration offerings offer the company's Business Partners, ISVs, and customers new opportunities for revenue growth as they take advantage of the fastest growing operating system in the world."

For instance, ASI System Integration, an IBM Business Partner and solutions provider, is taking advantage of the Migration Kit for Solaris OS to Linux to reduce the cost of Linux migrations.

"'Migration Kit for Solaris OS to Linux' will be a valuable tool in the conversion to Linux," said Irving Steinhardt, director, Enterprise Systems, ASI System Integration. "It will help reduce the cost of the migration, and help business and technical people better comprehend and manage this type of migration. Additionally, it shows IBM's continuing comprehension of the material aids that are required in this marketplace."

New Offering Expands Arsenal of IBM's Solaris to Linux Migration Initiatives

In February, 2005, IBM announced a Solaris to Linux front-end to its "Chiphopper" Independent Software Vendor (ISV) offering to make it easier for applications to run on Linux. The migration kit offers prospective Linux ISVs the tools they need to port Solaris applications to Linux and enter the Chiphopper program. In May, 2005, IBM offered a "Solaris to Linux Migration Factory" designed to help customers migrate from Solaris to Linux across all IBM eServers and Systems.

IBM Migration Factory has conducted over 3000 migrations on multiple platforms to AIX and Linux. Over 90 customers have requested assistance from this Solaris to Linux migration assessment taking advantage of IBM's top migration experts at no charge and with no additional commitments.

Independent Software Vendors using IBM eServer Application Advantage for Linux, or Chiphopper, now total 60 ISVs supporting some 267 applications. Chiphopper is a collaboration between IBM and Business Partners Novell and Red Hat. It is aimed at offering ISVs the ability to expand customer reach and revenue opportunities by enabling a Linux application to operate across the entire IBM eServer product line.

In the past year, for instance, the number of ISVs supporting IBM Linux on eServer pSeries has almost doubled. In 2005, 383 new IBM ISVs have ported some 808 new applications supporting Linux on eServer pSeries bringing the total number to 862 ISVs with 1,799 applications.

Cameron Systems is taking advantage of Linux to grow in worldwide markets.

"Certifying our CameronFIX Platform on the IBM eServer pSeries and eServer zSeries for Linux is creating new growth opportunities for us around the world," said George Wishart, sales director for Cameron Systems Inc. in New York. "Many of our clients in the financial services industry are moving to or expanding their use of Linux and we're happy to support them."

The momentum of Solaris to Linux migrations has extended from Financial Services industry to the Telecommunications industry. Pactolus Communications Software Corporation, an IBM Business Partner, started delivering SIP-based voice services in 2001 for service providers looking to host their own next generation IP voice service.

"Our RapidFLEX™ Service Delivery Platform was first available only on Solaris-based systems," said Ken Osowski, vice president of Marketing and Product Management at Pactolus. "In 2003, based on customer demand for higher levels of price and performance we began to ship our solution on Linux-based IBM eServer xSeries hardware. Today all of our software runs on Linux and 80% of our software is shipped on Linux. The combination of our advanced high availability platform features along with IBM's highly reliable Linux hardware has helped our customers achieve outstanding availability levels."

BroadSoft, a leading VoIP applications software company, added Linux to its portfolio to meet growing demand in their service provider customer base.

"Our customers require solutions built on open standards and Linux meets that concern," said Robert Weidenfeller, vice president of engineering. "We have had Linux support in one aspect of our solution for years, and decided this was the right time to extend that support to other components of the BroadWorks VoIP application platform."

About IBM:

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and key business partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable companies to take full advantage of the on demand era. For more information about IBM, visit http://www.ibm.com


Contact:
John Charlson
IBM Systems Group
914-766-4628
charlson@us.ibm.com

SOURCE: IBM

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