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1,000 IBM Linux-Based PCs Delivered to Schools in 16 Mexican States.
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ARMONK, N.Y. July 7, 2004 - Today IBM announces new services to help companies in Mexico leverage the benefits of open-platform computing on PCs, wireless devices, PDAs, Point of Sale (POS) terminals and other client devices. Using an industry-specific approach that combines business consulting and customized blueprints, IBM enables customers to leverage the benefits of Linux for industry applications beyond the server.
Due to increased customer interest in specific industries such as retail, financial services, government and education, IBM has developed the new open client services to help companies increase the security, productivity, and performance of their IT systems, while helping them lower software maintenance costs. IBM is able to tap into its expertise in open source and open standards computing, IT services leadership and consulting expertise in specific industries, to quickly respond to the growing opportunity in Mexico.
Omnilife, a Mexican retail business, recently acquired 1,000 IBM ThinkCentre desktop PCs. IBM Global Services provided services to support the desktop PCs running on Linux. As a part of a local community program, Omnilife donated the IBM PCs to primary schools in 16 states in Mexico, with the goal of fostering the use of open platforms, while d emonstrating the ease of use and compatibility of open systems with current system environments.
"Reduced operating and maintenance costs, as well as an increased use of new applications are only a few of the benefits we have experienced from our open system platforms," said Jorge Vergara, director, Omnilife. "Our hope is to allow students of all ages to use and become familiar with open technology, so that they can grow with it and take advantage of it in the future."
As more companies shift to open platforms, IBM Mexico continues to work with companies from the manufacturing, business, entertainment and pharmaceutical industries, among others, to migrate their IT infrastructures to Linux.
IBM's Open Client Services offer specific industries a consultative-based approach. IBM business and IT consultants work with customers in retail, financial services, government and education to identify user segments within the business that can most easily and successfully migrate to an open environment. IBM helps customers migrate infrastructures to Linux and other open platforms including assessment, IT design, pilot, architecture and support.
With ongoing security issues and the increasingly high rising costs of maintaining PCs, IBM offers corporate customers consulting and best practices to help them transform their networks into secure infrastructures, while lowering the total cost of ownership for their applications.
IBM supports a range of industry-leading Linux platforms, including Red Hat, Novell/SUSE and Conectiva, a Latin American Linux distributor. The new offerings focus on certain areas ripe for a move to Linux: call centers; technical workstations; kiosks, ATMs, and POS terminals; in addition to specific industry targets such as education, retail, bank branch transformation, and government facilities.
"IBM is seeing customers increasingly looking to develop open platforms for their desktop environments so as to not be tied into one vendor," said Peter Nielsen, director of Linux services, IBM Global Services. "In Mexico, the industrial, educational, government and financial industries are emerging as drivers of open systems adoption. IBM, in leveraging its own industry consultants and worldwide services expertise, is quickly able to respond to this growing customer demand among niche segments of the marketplace."
IBM Open Client Desktop Services include:
Architecture and design services for Linux environments:
Analysis of current environment and migration path
Software and hardware testing certification
Assistance with Linux-based image creation and distribution, including enterprise applications
Migration services, consulting services, production support services, testing lab, call center, and maintenance services
Management and monitoring of client devices
Management and updating of new Linux versions to ensure compatibility and productivity
Education and training for systems developers, managers and users
The services, already announced in Brazil, are now available in Mexico.
About IBM Global Services
IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services and consulting provider, generating record revenue and signings in 2003 of $42.6 billion and $55.5 billion, respectively. Some 180,000 professionals in more than 160 countries help clients integrate information technology with business value -- from the business transformation and industry expertise of IBM Business Consulting Services to hosting, infrastructure, technology design and training services. Leveraging IBM's unequalled scope and scale, IBM Global Services delivers integrated, flexible and resilient processes -- across companies and through business partners -- that enable clients to benefit from the on demand business model by saving money and transforming their businesses to be more competitive. For more information, visit http://www.ibm.com/services.
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