Former SUSE/Novell Exec Seibt Joins Collax Board

BEDFORD, Mass., Sept. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Collax, a leading provider of Linux servers for small and medium sized businesses, announced today that former IBM, Novell and SUSE executive Richard Seibt has joined its Board of Directors.

Collax offers SMBs a suite of simple, cost-effective open source solutions for security, networking, and communication -- with no Linux knowledge required.

"What impresses me about Collax is the concept -- open source-based technology that can be operated without Linux know-how, and which integrates 'best-of-breed' open source software and applications," said Seibt. "It's a product ideally suited to SMBs and, frankly, the next big wave of Linux adoption."

Seibt was most recently president of Novell EMEA - joining the company after the acquisition by Novell of SUSE Linux, where he served as CEO. In 1994, as head of IBM's German software line of business, Seibt was responsible for the success of the OS/2 operating system in Europe.

"We are delighted to have recruited one of the world's top Linux executives to the board," said Olaf Jacobi, CEO, Collax. "With his proven expertise, network of contacts and market knowledge, Richard will make a vital contribution to the international success of our solutions."

About Richard Seibt

Most recently President, Novell EMEA, Seibt has been an IT executive for 26 years. As Managing Director of IBM Germany, he was responsible for sales and marketing for IBM software products in Germany, Austria and Switzerland and was principally responsible for the enormous success of OS/2 in the German-speaking market - precipitating a move to the US as General Manager of the OS/2 division.

Seibt left IBM in 1998 and joined the board of United Internet AG. In January 2003, he joined the Nuremburg-based SUSE Linux as CEO and chairman of the board. Just over one year later, SUSE Linux was acquired by Novell, and Seibt was named President of Novell-EMEA. He left Novell in May 2005, and has since devoted himself to selected Linux and open source projects. He is chairman of the Heise Media Congress Open-source-meets-business.com. Since October 2005, Richard Seibt has been involved in the boards of Open-Xchange and Scali, and in January 2006 he became an advisor to Collax, Inc.

Collax Product Portfolio

Collax develops and markets server solutions for security, networking, and communication, integrated with an easy-to-use GUI (graphical user interface) for installation, updates and maintenance. All Collax server solutions can be easily integrated into any existing network infrastructure. The current offering includes:

-- Collax Business Server is a Linux-based server solution, which offers security, networking and communication functions and requires no Linux know- how. It is available as a free software license for up to five non-commercial users, and can scale for use in small to medium-sized businesses and distributed branch offices of large enterprises.

-- Collax Security Gateway is a Unified Threat Management solution providing Web, email and network security with features such as antivirus, IDS, IPS, anti-spam, firewall, VPN, Web content filtering, and networking features - traffic management and multi-WAN - all integrated in a single management platform. Available either as a software subscription or pre- configured hardware appliance including software, the gateway is easily integrated into any existing network infrastructure.

-- Collax Open-Xchange Server is a collaboration suite, which offers tools to facilitate communication for personal information management as well as efficient team collaboration - whether project management, customer care or internal workflows. The server is available as a software subscription or pre- configured hardware appliance.

-- Collax Appliances are pre-installed, turn-key solutions that combine software and hardware to provide ease of use with no Linux knowledge required. Depending on a company's size and intended level of use, a Collax appliance will be configured for maximum benefit.

About Collax, Inc. - Simply Linux

With more than 8,000 installations worldwide, Collax delivers turn-key, Linux-based server solutions to run a business. The solutions contain a suite of best of breed open source applications for security, networking and communication. Also available pre-loaded on hardware, the server software can be used with any Windows, Mac or Linux client devices and requires no customer administration. SMBs or departments of larger enterprises realize Linux functionality, scalability, security and rapid innovation without learning a new operating system.

Collax is based in Bedford, Massachusetts and Munich, Germany and its investors include Atlas Venture Partners, Intel Capital and Wellington Partners. For more information, visit http://www.collax.com.