IBM and Red Hat Announce Global Alliance to Deliver Enterprise Linux Solutions

RALEIGH, NC, and ARMONK, NY—September 16, 2002—IBM and Red Hat today announced a multiyear alliance, including services and expanded support for software and servers, that will enable the two companies to provide broad Linux® support to enterprise customers worldwide.

As part of today's agreement Red Hat will deliver Red Hat Linux Advanced Server for IBM's eServerTM zSeriesTM, iSeriesTM, and pSeriesTM. IBM Global Services will provide support for Red Hat Linux Advanced Server on IBM's entire eServer product line.

The alliance addresses three key areas for Linux users:

Services:
  • IBM Global Services will provide Red Hat Linux Advanced Server and Red Hat Network managed software services, and complement them with comprehensive joint service and support offerings.

  • Red Hat and IBM Global Services will team to provide comprehensive end-to-end service and support to customers with Linux technical knowledge and engineering resources.

  • Red Hat and IBM Global Services will collaborate and package each other's consulting and service offerings allowing them to tailor support offerings to customers' needs in a broad variety of ways. Together, the two companies can provide one stop support for customers' Linux service requirements.

Server Support:
  • Red Hat will deliver mainstream support for Red Hat Linux Advanced Server on IBM's eServer zSeries, iSeries and pSeries servers. Red Hat Linux Advanced Server is already supported on the IBM eServer xSeries servers.

  • The development teams of the IBM eServer division and Red Hat will work closely together to ensure optimum performance across all eServer products.

Software Collaboration:
  • IBM will make its key software products available on Red Hat Linux Advanced Server, starting with Intel® processor-based servers such as eServer xSeries this year, and expanding to additional eServer hardware in 2003. These software products include WebSphere®, the J2EE-based infrastructure software for building and deploying Web Services; DB2 ®, Tivoli®, and Lotus®. IBM already offers the industry's most comprehensive portfolio of middleware products for Linux, with more than 60 products currently available.

"IBM Global Services has already implemented more enterprise Linux solutions than any other organization in the world," said Steve Solazzo, general manager, Linux, IBM. "Now, with support for Red Hat Linux Advanced Server and increased services, server, and software collaboration, IBM and Red Hat can help further accelerate the adoption of Linux-based solutions."

"The adoption of Linux in enterprise computing has been accelerated by support from major application, software and hardware vendors and is evidenced by broad corporate adoption," said Matthew Szulik, Chairman and CEO, Red Hat. "This announcement and global alignment with all major IBM business units moves Linux into the enterprise mainstream. Support from the world's largest system integrator for its enterprise platform confirms the leading global position that Red Hat has built in the Linux market."

About IBM
 IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with more than 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM Global Services is the industry's largest business and information technology services provider, with approximately 150,000 professionals serving customers in 160 countries and annual revenue of $35 billion.

About Red Hat, Inc.
 Red Hat is the world's premier open source and Linux provider. Red Hat is headquartered in Raleigh, N.C. and has offices worldwide. Please visit Red Hat on the Web at www.redhat.com.

IBM,the e-business logo, eServer, iSeries, pSeries, xSeries, zSeries, Websphere, DB2, and Tivoli are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and other countries

Lotus is a registered trademark of Lotus Development Corporation in the United States and other countries.

LINUX is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. RED HAT is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc. All other names and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.