Cool News!! Just in case you may have missed it... "IBM and BPs Introduce a Linux-Based, Virtual Desktop"

"IBM and BPs Introduce a Linux-Based, Virtual Desktop"

Customers Significantly Lower Costs by Combining the Power of IBM, Virtual Bridges and Canonical for a Linux-Based, Security-Rich, Microsoft-Desktop Alternative

ARMONK, NY - 04 Dec 2008: IBM (NYSE: IBM), Virtual Bridges and Canonical today announced general availability of a Linux-desktop solution designed to drive significant savings compared with Microsoft-desktop software by amplifying Lotus collaboration software and Ubuntu to a larger user base through virtualization.

This solution runs open standards-based email, word processing, spreadsheets, unified communication, social networking and other software to any laptop, browser, or mobile device from a virtual desktop login on a Linux-based server configuration.

A virtual desktop looks like a traditional desktop but is not limited to a single physical computer. Instead, many virtual Linux desktops are hosted on a server. The combined solution includes:

Virtual desktop provided by Virtual Bridges called Virtual Enterprise Remote Desktop Environment (VERDE);
Ubuntu, the worldwide leading Linux desktop operating system, from Canonical; and
IBM Open Collaboration Client Solution software (OCCS) based on IBM Lotus Symphony, IBM Lotus Notes and Lotus applications. IBM Lotus Symphony is built on the Open Document Format (ODF).
Today's news builds on announcements throughout 2008 around delivering Microsoft-alternative desktops in conjunction with our partners. This solution is now a key component of IBM's financial services front office transformation offering as well as part of the IBM public sector industry solution framework.

"When we look back several years from now, I think we'll see this time as an inflection point when the economic climate pushed the virtual Linux desktop from theory to practice," said Inna Kuznetsova, director, IBM Linux Strategy. "The financial pressures on organizations are staggering and the management of PCs is unwieldy. Today's virtual desktop is delivering superior collaborative software, an innovative delivery method, and an open-source operating system that is demanding clients' consideration."

Compared to Microsoft-based desktops, this virtual desktop solution, including industry-leading components from IBM, Virtual Bridges and Canonical, is estimated on average to deliver cost savings from:

Licensing: cost avoidance of $500 to $800 per user on software license for Microsoft Office, Windows and all related products (1);
Hardware: cost avoidance of around $258 per user since there is no need to upgrade hardware to support Windows Vista and Office 2007 (2);
Power consumption: cost avoidance of $40 to $145 per user from reduced power to run the configuration and $20 to $73 per user from reduced air conditioning requirements from lower powered desktop devices annually (3); and
IT services: 90 percent savings of deskside PC support; 75 percent of security/user administration; 50 percent of help desk services such as password resets, and 50 percent for software installations, which are replaced by software publishing (4)
"With the benefits of open standards over a proprietary platform come the freedom to select software in a heterogeneous environment," said Malcolm Yates, vice president, Canonical. "Combining Ubuntu with IBM's Open Client software applications we can break out of Microsoft dependencies completely and significantly reduce total cost of ownership."

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