German government moves to IBM Linux

From:	 "Nina Velasquez (US)" <ninav@text100.com>
To:	 "'pr@lwn.net'" <pr@lwn.net>
Subject: German government moves to IBM Linux
Date:	 Mon, 3 Jun 2002 12:05:22 -0400

All,
Today, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior announced that it is
turning to IBM to facilitate the country's standardization on Linux.  The
German government has signed a contract with IBM to move its federal, state,
and local agencies to Linux.  Under the strategic agreement, IBM will help
the government develop innovative IT solutions, including key IBM hardware,
software and services solutions.

The German government's move to Linux is the latest and largest example of
Linux sweeping the government sector.  National and local governments around
the world are turning to IBM  for the hardware, software and services to
create Linux solutions to save costs, consolidate workloads, and increase
efficiency.  In fact, more than 75 IBM government customers are using Linux
today.

Worldwide governments that have already moved to Linux and IBM  include the
US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), the US Department of Energy (DOE) the US Air Force and Pinellas
County, Florida in the US, as well as China, Singapore, and Australia
internationally.

I've included the press release below.  Let me know if you have any
questions about this news.  

Best,
Nina

Nina Velasquez
Account Manager
Text 100 Public Relations
Tel:  212.871.5173
E-mail: ninav@text100.com

Press Release:
German Federal Ministry of Interior Signs Cooperation with IBM To Move to
Linux and Open Software
 - Minister of the Interior Paves Way for Linux in German Administration on
Federal, State and Communal Level - 

Berlin, Germany, June 3, 2002 -- Minister of the Interior, Otto Schily, and
CEO of IBM Germany, Erwin Staudt, today have signed a comprehensive
cooperation contract of support in the German Public Administration's move
to Linux and open software. The contract enables the Administration, on a
federal, state and communal level, to buy IBM hardware and software running
Linux under competitive pricing conditions.

"Post September 11th, I have taken the initiative to start discussions with
a series of important representatives of the IT industry in Germany to look
for ways to raise the level of security of IT infrastructures in the public
and private sector under a framework of security partnerships,"  said Otto
Schily, Minister of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany.  "A
necessary precondition for this is the use of trusted systems, especially
trusted software."

"With the contract with IBM we meet three key targets. We raise the level of
IT security by avoiding monocultures, we lower the dependency on single
software vendors, and we reach costs savings in software and operation
costs. In this, we are pacesetter in creating a greater diversity in the IT
landscape. This is to the benefit not only the Federal Republic, but also to
the states and communities, which, for the first time, can now quickly and
simply hold of open source systems," said Schily.

Under the contract, conditions have been created to offer economic solutions
for intensifying the use of open source software to authorities of the
Federal Republic.  A strategic cooperation management will also be
established for IBM to support the Federal Republic in the creation of
innovative and reusable IT solutions for the federal administration.

"The decision to use open source products in the federal administration is
not only a signal for the future for states and communities, but also a
commitment to the IT industry in Germany. Our common work groups are
designed to help in defining suitable projects for the administration and to
help prepare the practical use of open source software," said Erwin Staudt,
CEO of IBM Germany.

IBM will deliver its eServers hardware pre-installed with Linux distributed
by the German SMB enterprise SuSE Linux AG, supporting the IT industry in
Germany.

"Linux offers the best potential as an alternative to Windows for server
operating systems to reach more heterogeneity in the area of software. The
fact that we have an alternative to Windows with Linux gives us more
independence as a large software customer and is a major contribution to the
economic use of IT in the administration", said Schily.