Red Hat Enterprise Linux and IBM Workplace Services Express will be preinstalled in a VMware environment and packaged as a virtual machine that can be downloaded electronically from Red Hat Network. This will allow access to Red Hat Enterprise Linux and IBM Workplace Services Express in a preinstalled environment, reducing the effort required for a customer or prospect to deploy, use and evaluate a working installation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and IBM Workplace Services Express.
Workplace Services Express provides team rooms, instant messaging, document management and portal capability in a single, integrated interface, and is specifically designed to meet the collaborative needs of customers with a limited amount of users, including SMBs and individual departments within large companies. Workplace Services Express allows customers to easily deliver and manage business applications as well as share and integrate information with employees, contractors and partners. By providing evaluation copies of Workplace Services Express with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, IBM and Red Hat are providing Red Hat Enterprise Linux customers with an open standards-based, flexible solution that can help lower IT costs and increase organizational productivity.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux enables organizations to realize the benefits of open source innovation throughout their IT environment. Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides customers with a reliable, scalable computing platform delivering a high level of security and performance. According to Red Hat, Red Hat Enterprise Linux is supported on hundreds of hardware systems across seven different architectures and over a thousand software applications, providing businesses with multiple tools to help manage their cost of ownership.
The agreement marks the latest addition to IBM's portfolio of Express offerings for the SMB market. While not limited to SMB customers, IBM Workplace Services Express and Red Hat Enterprise Linux will present an attractive option for SMBs looking to build a collaborative, Linux-ready solution for their organization without investing significant time or IT resources.
With IBM Workplace Services Express, customers can run a portal, email, team rooms and instant messaging on a single Red Hat Enterprise Linux server, which can help lower the total cost of ownership and streamline the administration of a customer's team collaboration solution. And the portal capabilities in Workplace Services Express enable customers to integrate a broad spectrum of business applications, which gives customers collaboration capabilities within the context of the applications they use everyday. Workplace Services Express is also part of IBM's Solutions Builder Express Portfolio, which provides tools, documentation, and support for IBM business partners that are working with IBM software to design solutions for their SMB customers.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux is designed for heterogeneous IT environments, and comes with built-in graphical tools that make it easy for non-Linux experts to install and administer Linux systems. Additionally, each subscription to Red Hat Enterprise Linux includes a web-based system administration tool called Red Hat Network, which streamlines system management for IT administrators. The Red Hat Network also includes additional tools and capabilities that make it easier for system administrators to manage, deploy and provision systems as needed, without having to add additional resources.
"Workplace Services Express is designed to meet our customers' collaboration needs without eating up a lot of IT resources, and IBM's multi-platform approach helps our customers avoid the vendor lock-in that they experience with other collaboration platforms," said Jeff Chang, Executive, Software Group, IBM China/Hong Kong Limited. "And by offering a trial copy of Workplace Services Express with Red Hat Enterprise Linux, we're teaming with one of the industry's leading Linux providers to give SMBs an additional choice for their collaborative computing platform to help them manage costs while increasing performance."
"Working with IBM, Red Hat is looking forward to introducing small to medium organizations to a highly reliable and affordable solution for Linux," said Michael Lim, Sales Director, Red Hat Greater China. "IBM Workplace Services Express features a wide range of office and collaboration functionality while Red Hat Enterprise Linux presents itself as a great platform alternative for the SMB."
The download is now available via the Red Hat Network (http://www.redhat.com/solutions/partners/rhrp/ibmwse/)*. The software to run this pre-installed IBM Workplace Services Express and Red Hat Enterprise Linux evaluation environment can be found on VMware Technology Network (VMTN: www.vmtn.net/technology/vm). Interested parties can call the IBM hotline: (852) 2825 7878 for enquiries.
The combined WSE 2.5 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux bundle offer will be sold direct through IBM business partners. WSE 2.5 license is priced at US$2,280 per 20 users with 1-year software maintenance. The 1-year subscription pricing for Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES Entry/Mid Server is US$308**, with optional 1-year services support from IBM at US$500.
*registration for the program will end on February 28, 2006
** for single CPU or dual CPU Intel based server; exclusive to HK SME customers
###
About IBM
IBM, the world's largest information technology and business solutions company, is the global leader in innovative systems, services, consulting, research and financing that help organizations transform into On Demand Businesses. IBM opened for business in Hong Kong in April 1957. For details, please visit www.ibm.com/hk.
About Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat, the world's leading open source and Linux provider, is headquartered in Raleigh, NC, with satellite offices spanning the globe. Red Hat is leading Linux and open source solutions into the mainstream by making high quality, low cost technology accessible. Red Hat provides operating system software along with middleware, applications and management solutions. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide and through top-tier partnerships. Red Hat's open source strategy offers customers a long term plan for building infrastructures that are based on and leverage open source technologies with focus on security and ease of management. Learn more: http://www.redhat.com.
- About Red Hat
Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to reliable and high-performing cloud, Linux, middleware, storage and virtualization technologies. Red Hat also offers award-winning support, training, and consulting services. As the connective hub in a global network of enterprises, partners, and open source communities, Red Hat helps create relevant, innovative technologies that liberate resources for growth and prepare customers for the future of IT. Learn more at http://www.redhat.com.
- Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: risks related to delays or reductions in information technology spending; the effects of industry consolidation; the ability of the Company to compete effectively; the integration of acquisitions and the ability to market successfully acquired technologies and products; uncertainty and adverse results in litigation and related settlements; the inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to third party intellectual property; the ability to deliver and stimulate demand for new products and technological innovations on a timely basis; risks related to data and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, the Company’s growth and international operations; fluctuations in exchange rates; and changes in and a dependence on key personnel, as well as other factors contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov), including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic and political conditions, governmental and public policy changes and the impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.