OSDL to Enter China Market With New Beijing Office

BEIJING and BEAVERTON, Ore., Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a global consortium of leading technology companies dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux, today announced the forthcoming establishment of a new Beijing office with local staffing in China.

Beijing, capital city of the People's Republic of China and the headquarters office for many key government organizations and the country's leading information technology firms, will be the first OSDL office to be established in China.

Some of the most important government agencies in China have pledged to work with OSDL in advancing Linux and OSDL initiatives.

"We recognize that Linux marks a great opportunity for the expansion of the software industry in China," said Ding Wen Wu, deputy director, Ministry of Information Industry (MII), People's Republic of China. "The Chinese government consistently drives progress and the advanced use of Linux. OSDL's initiatives for accelerating the adoption of Linux in the enterprise computing have garnered worldwide support. We expect to collaborate with OSDL and we are committed to advancing Linux together with OSDL."

"We welcome OSDL's new Beijing Office and it's participation in China OSS Promotion Union," said Lu Shou Qun, Chairman of China OSS Promotion Union. "This new partnership will lead to a closer cooperative relationship and contribute to the development of Linux in China."

"Together with OSDL, we share the common goal of accelerating the adoption of Linux," said Gao Lin, Ph.D. China Electronics Standardization Institute (CESI). "We think it's very important for both of us to partner on this critical work."

China is one of the world's fastest-growing markets for Linux, according to research analysts. CCID Consulting, a Chinese IT research firm, has estimated that the Linux server software market in China will explode at a compound annual growth rate of 49.3 percent over the next five years.

"China is a leader in embracing Linux," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. "The government is promoting Linux, a vibrant local software industry is blossoming around Linux, and the world's leading IT firms are investing heavily to deliver Linux-based computing solutions to Chinese customers. OSDL is committed to helping all of these groups to advance Linux in China."

OSDL, with offices in Japan and the United States, already works closely with the Chinese Ministry of Information Industry (MII) and the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and boasts several China-based members, including Beijing Co-Create Open Source Software Company and the Beijing Software Testing Center. The new OSDL office in Beijing will be staffed locally with personnel to liaise with OSDL in the technical, business and marketing areas.

"We look forward to partnering with MII, MOST and other governmental organizations in helping customers and vendors in the Chinese market move to Linux," said Masanobu Hirano, head of OSDL in Asia. "China is a top priority for OSDL." About Open Source Development Labs (OSDL)

OSDL -- home to Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux -- is dedicated to accelerating the growth and adoption of Linux. Founded in 2000 by CA, Hitachi, HP, IBM, Intel and NEC, OSDL is a non-profit organization at the center of Linux supported by a global consortium of more than 40 of the world's largest Linux customers and IT industry leaders. OSDL sponsors industry-wide initiatives around Linux in telecommunications, in the enterprise data center and on corporate desktops. The Lab also provides Linux expertise and computing and test facilities in the United States and Japan available to developers around the world. Visit OSDL on the Web at http://www.osdl.org/ . NOTE: OSDL is a trademark of Open Source Development Labs, Inc. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds. Third party marks and brands are the property of their respective holders