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Ubuntu and IBM Join Forces against Windows 7

Posted 10/21/09 at 10:17:00 AM  by Pulkit Chandna

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IBM is hoping its latest war cry can somehow pierce the din that Windows 7 seems to be generating. In September, the company struck a partnership with Canonical, the UK-based sponsor of Ubuntu, which resulted in the launch of an Ubuntu-based desktop bundle in Africa.

The cloud- and Ubuntu-based software package, which is part of IBM’s Smart Work Initiative, will soon be debuting in the States. The Ubuntu-based desktop package includes IBM’s free Lotus Symphony productivity suite and Lotus Notes, which is a business email and collaboration solution.

The IBM Client for Smart Work will only arrive in the U.S. in 2010 despite IBM positioning it to rival Windows 7 – on the brink of launch - in the enterprise market. It will be available both as a run-of-the-mill desktop and as a virtualized desktop.

"If a company is a 'Windows shop,' at some point it will need to evaluate the significant costs of migrating its base to Microsoft's next desktop," said Bob Picciano, General Manager, IBM Lotus Software. IBM and chums are clearly targeting those businesses that are not too keen on Windows 7.

COMMENTS:5
TAGS: ubuntu, ibm, enterprise, cloud, windows 7 week, linux desktop, lotus notes, lotus symphony
COMMENTS
avatarLotus

Submitted by mesiah on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 4:40pm

Anything with both IBM and Lotus in the name sends chills down my spine.

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avatarYeah, might go somewhere against MS

Submitted by clone4crw on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 3:19pm

Too bad Lotus symphony is TERRIBLE. That doesn't bode well for IBM.

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avatarI'm glad Microsoft divorced themselves from IBM.

Submitted by QUINTIX256 on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 10:15am

Back when Microsoft started, the idea of selling software separate from hardware was new and radical.

Linus and Stallman are both full time employees. Their income obviously doesn't come from royalties, and GNU can't run on donations alone. Guess where the money comes from.

You can have your recession. I'm not participating.

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avatarLinux has just barely

Submitted by bjoswald on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 9:37am

Linux has just barely cracked the desktop market and they (Canonical) think they can take on Windows 7, let alone Microsoft? They've got a rude awakening coming up, then. Just because Microsoft recognizes Ubuntu as a potential threat doesn't mean they have enough momentum to go off half-cocked. It's nice to see competition but come on. 

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avatarI agree

Submitted by lien_meat on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 10:16am

I agree ubuntu isn't ready to take on win7 (or xp, or vista...) on the desktop in any pervasive way(i think it works perfectly well for some people though)...but honestly, I'm not sure that's exactly what's going on here.
I think it's probably more of a PR move to advertize themselves as a windows alternative than to try to beat win7 where it does best.  They probably just want to get noticed and get people interested in what the alternatives are.  I don't think they believe they will be amazingly successful, as obviously windows does run more of the type of software that is needed in that market.  It would be an amazingly hard sell for most companies given the prevelence of all the good windows based software.  However, there are some businesses that probably could run ubuntu and it's supported software and do just fine, but I KNOW it's not the majority.  The problem is finding and appealing to those nitch businesses that COULD benefit from the lower costs of ubuntu.
I run ubuntu by default, but I'm not stupid enough to think that means it's good enough for everyone.
### I'm an idiot, and I approve this message ###

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