Turbolinux and IBM Sign Global Agreement to Provide Linux Software Solutions and Support

Business Wire, Jan 10, 2001

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2001

IBM and Turbolinux to Market Enterprise-ready, E-business Solutions for Database Management, Integrated Messaging and E-commerce On Linux

Turbolinux, the leader in high-performance Linux for Internet infrastructure solutions, today announced a global distribution and support agreement with IBM (NYSE:IBM). Turbolinux will offer e-business software solutions that include all of IBM's Linux-based software.

Under the global agreement, Turbolinux and IBM will jointly market, distribute and support bundled IBM solutions on Turbolinux that include IBM DB2 Universal Database(a), IBM WebSphere(a) family of e-business application servers, Lotus Domino(a), Tivoli Framework(a) and IBM's Small Business Suite for Linux(a).

"In this agreement with Turbolinux, IBM is broadening its distribution of proven, enterprise-class applications and tools within the Linux computing environment," said Dan Kusnetzky, vice president of systems software research for International Data Corporation (IDC). "This partnership should accelerate the adoption of Linux in the enterprise, particularly in Asia where Turbolinux has a strong presence."

"IBM is pleased to work with Turbolinux to offer our mutual customers a range of robust e-business infrastructure software solutions on Linux," said Dick Sullivan, vice president, Solutions and Integration Marketing, IBM Software. "Combining Turbolinux products with the breadth of software for Linux from IBM, Lotus and Tivoli gives customers more choice and helps them deploy solutions faster with global availability and support."

"Our customers are looking for solutions on Linux and IBM is a leader in delivering complete software offerings that meet the needs of business units across an enterprise, from data centers and application hosting to wireless access and mainframe computing," said T. Paul Thomas, Turbolinux president and CEO. "The combination of Turbolinux solutions with IBM software gives our customers unmatched availability and flexibility in moving their business to Linux."

This agreement builds on a relationship between IBM and Turbolinux that began in 1999 when the two companies announced the first offering of DB2 Universal Database integrated with a Linux distribution. IBM has since taken an equity stake in Turbolinux and the two companies have partnered on global support and services, a global OEM agreement, agreements to offer Turbolinux across IBM's eServer line of business server platforms and several other projects designed to advance the adoption of Linux in the enterprise.

Pricing and Availability

The IBM and Turbolinux e-business and Internet infrastructure software solutions will be available in the first half of 2001 with pricing to be determined.

About Turbolinux, Inc.

Founded in 1992, Turbolinux develops Linux-based software solutions for Internet and enterprise computing infrastructure, including reliable, available and scalable operating systems for workstations and servers and software clustering solutions for computing traffic management and peer-to-peer distributed computing. Backed by more than $95 million in investments from some of the world's leading technology companies, including Compaq, Dell, Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, NEC, Novell, Oracle, SGI and Toshiba, Turbolinux is headquartered near San Francisco with offices around the world. For more information, visit the Turbolinux Web site at http://www.turbolinux.com.

Note to Editors: Turbolinux is a registered trademark of Turbolinux, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other registered trademarks belong to their respective holders.

(a) Indicates trademark or registered trademark of IBM Corporation and/or its subsidiaries.