Available in the third quarter of 2004, Linux enabled Java conforms to Lawson's strategy of providing completely open solutions, and reinforces the company's leadership in the fast growing 'on-demand' market.  

Lawson recently announced its new partnership with IBM - recognised as the leading proponent of the Linux operating system. Lawson will standardise its enterprise solution on IBM's middleware and, initially, Linux will be developed to run on IBM's eServer pSeries servers.

Leading the way with open standards

Lawson has been at the forefront of adopting open standards like XML and those developed by IBM and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), since it announced, in 1998, the Java version of its enterprise solution.  The combination of Linux, Java and XML strengthen Lawson's collaborative proposition as together they increase information flow and transparency within the 'value chain' - a prerequisite for collaboration between companies.

Growth of Linux

Johan Berg, president of Lawson Research and Development globally, said that Linux is also a cornerstone of the new on-demand business environment and is fast becoming the operating system of choice.  

"IDC says that Linux server shipments are expected to grow by 28.5 per cent between 2002 and 2007, compared with 10.3 per cent for Windows," said Berg. "Figures for 2002 and expectations for 2003 appear to confirm this prediction.  In 2002 the number of servers running Linux increased by 22.8 per cent compared with the previous 12 months. And in 2003, sales of Linux servers are expected to equal or exceed sales of Windows 2000 servers."

Berg said that Gartner also subscribes to a bright future for Linux.  According to the IT analyst, the mid-sized market is also growing quickly, and 45 per cent of companies are already using or experimenting with Linux.

Choice, flexibility and security for the future

"Linux is gaining critical mass because it is attracting the attentions of corporations like the Ford Motor Company, Reuters and Unilever, and a growing number of national and local governments," said Steve Ironside, Managing Director, Lawson. "The operating system has proven to be both scalable and reliable and it's an important element of the new grid computing networks that will power the on-demand business world."

"Linux gives companies wider choice because it runs on many hardware platforms and protects technology investment.  It creates flexibility for the future and means companies can embrace new technologies, secure in the knowledge that investments made today, will be relevant in years to come."

November 2003