HP Further Extends Open Source and Linux into the Data Center

HP (www.hp.com) today announced new products, services and programs to help customers simplify and accelerate the adoption of Linux and open source in the data center.

Introduced at the LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, the offerings include four new Linux Expertise Centers for independent software vendors and extended services for customers in HP Solution Centers worldwide.

The company also unveiled more than 200 open source packages on HP Integrity NonStop servers, programs developed with industry leaders to facilitate the use of open source technology across vendors and operating systems, and Virus Throttle for Linux - an industry-first security technology that provides proactive, intelligent defense against unknown virus threats based on Linux.

To date, HP has sold more Linux servers than any other major hardware vendor and continues to aggressively license patents under the General Public License.

"An impressive amount of HP's growth from the last 2 years came from products and services based on open source," said Martin Fink, vice president and general manager, Open Source and Linux Organization and NonStop Enterprise Division, HP. "HP's level of commitment to open source provides customers with the choice, integration expertise and confidence they need to become an Adaptive Enterprise."

Four new Linux Expertise Centers for independent software vendors (ISVs) were opened in the United States and Europe in conjunction with the HP Developer and Solution Partner Program.

The centers feature the latest HP server and open source technology support spanning the most popular Linux distributions - Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server - and are specifically targeted for the ISV community to utilize for porting their applications.

Additionally, HP has extended services for customers with a network of more than 80 HP Solution Centers worldwide. For customers and partners looking to implement open source and Linux solutions, the centers provide a dedicated environment for development, testing and validation on the latest HP hardware and open source technology prior to implementation.

mFormation Technologies Inc., a leading provider of mobile device management software, chose HP in order to provide its joint Tier I global operator customers with a high-availability, future-proof, Linux-based mobile device management solution - one that not only enabled customers to accelerate data revenues and increase customer satisfaction, but also significantly reduce the costs of managing their advanced mobile devices.

"HP provided mFormation with extensive support to port our carrier-grade mobile device management software platform, mFormation SERVICE MANAGER™, to Linux," said Upal K. Basu, co-founder and vice president of marketing and business development, mFormation.

To help customers more easily deploy a reliable and secure open source environment, HP introduced the following technologies:

More than 200 open source packages on HP Integrity NonStop servers, including Apache Web Server, Jabber, Samba, Zope and more.

HP Virus Throttle for Linux, a security technology that works without the need for specific knowledge of a virus itself and without any business interruption. Virus Throttle is expected to be available in the HP ProLiant Essentials Intelligent Networking Pack - Linux Edition in September.

HP, in partnership with SimDesk Technologies, will now jointly deliver the industry's first integrated open source solution for population- and community-based computing.

The solution uses an innovative hybrid architecture featuring HP Integrity NonStop and Linux servers to ensure maximum availability and scalability and eliminates the need for resource-intensive client-server technology.