IONA Announces Support for Linux On the IBM Mainframe

Business Wire, Sept 5, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2001

Leading e-Business Platform Provider Offers Linux Users Greater Performance, Scalability and ROI with e-Business Integration Solution

for the IBM eServer zSeries Platform

IONA(R), a leading e-Business Platform provider for Total Business Integration(TM) (NASDAQ: IONA), today announced plans to support the Linux platform on the IBM eServer z900 and S/390. The IONA e-Business Platform(TM) for Linux on the z900 and S/390 will be available in the fourth quarter of this year and will allow users of the high-performance, open-source operating system to quickly and easily deploy Linux applications with mainframe class characteristics.

According to International Data Corporation, Linux is now the fastest growing operating system among corporate users, growing at about thirty-five percent a year and expected to continue that pace annually through 2004. Linux's increased popularity is due in large part to its flexibility, reliability and low cost-of-ownership. The open source OS is being utilized to run everything from hand-helds and embedded systems to clusters of hundreds of servers and mainframes. Enterprise organizations rely heavily on mainframe systems such as IBM's z900 and S/390 platforms to power their critical business applications, and require an integration platform that addresses the importance of the mainframe platform in their e-business strategy.

"Our customers are using Linux on the mainframe to combine their disparate systems under one platform, for greater performance and easier operation," said Joann Duguid, Director, Linux marketing for IBM eServer zSeries. "Powerful solutions like the IONA e-Business Platform help our customers take this a step further by meeting their e-business integration goals."

By supporting Linux for the z900 and S/390 platforms, IONA is providing corporate Linux users an integration solution that utilizes mainframe systems in the design and deployment of e-business applications and assures greater performance, scalability and ROI from the mainframe platform.

"IONA is committed to offering customers maximum flexibility in implementing their e-business systems and has a long track-record of providing mainframe connectivity solutions," said Maurice Martin, Director of Enterprise Integration Products at IONA. "Linux is gaining wide-spread adoption among corporate users to run IBM mainframe systems, and will be strategic for many organizations moving forward. Mainframe-based systems are core in the creation of e-business applications, and IONA is providing the most comprehensive e-business integration solution available today."

About IONA

IONA is a leading e-Business Platform provider for Total Business Integration(TM). The IONA e-Business Platform provides users with a complete solution for end-to-end business integration inside and outside the firewall. The IONA e-Business Platform includes a J2EE-compliant application server, a mainframe and enterprise application integration suite as well as XML Web Services, Java and CORBA development tools, and a business-to-business integration (B2Bi) platform. Founded in 1991, IONA is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland with U.S. headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. The company had revenues of $153 million in 2000 and employs more than 900 people in 30 offices worldwide. Please visit www.iona.com for more information.

IONA, IONA e-Business Platform, IONA XMLBus, XMLBus, iPortal Application Server, IONA Enterprise Integrator, IONA Mainframe Integrator, IONA B2B Integrator, iPortal SureTrack, IONA XMLBus, Orbix, Adaptive Runtime Technology and Total Business Integration are trademarks or registered trademarks of IONA Technologies. SUN, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo, Java, and J2EE are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc in the United States and other countries. CORBA is a trademark or registered trademark of the Object Management Group, Inc in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.