Novell today announced IBM is delivering a portfolio of software appliances across IBM brands, all powered by SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Leveraging the SUSE Appliance Program from Novell, this broad-based initiative enables IBM to deliver “plug and play” appliances that substantially lower the cost and complexity of deploying applications for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and help independent software vendors (ISVs) significantly expand their routes to market.
With just a few mouse clicks, IBM customers and partners can now quickly and easily deploy customized and fully-tested software appliances to physical, virtual or cloud environments, and IBM is offering virtual stacks on the IBM Smart Business Development and Test Cloud.
Software appliances are pre-configured combinations of an application, middleware and operating system integrated into a single image and tailored to run on industry-standard hardware. Using software appliances ISVs can simplify the packaging of their solutions for multiple environments, allowing them to test, deploy and scale their offerings to their customers’ specific needs. This offers unprecedented opportunities to deliver simplified, highly-portable, tailored solutions free of the maintenance headaches that have often plagued enterprise IT. In effect, appliances make it possible to “mass customize” application delivery and furnish a fully-integrated solution faster and more efficiently than before.
The combination of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and IBM software represents a significant step forward in providing affordable, reliable, easy-to-use software appliances. IBM has created appliances based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server in the following areas:
- IBM Lotus Foundations – A complete technology and collaboration solution for small and medium-sized businesses. Using software appliances provides faster access and adoption of solutions, from accounting packages to a local network infrastructure.
- IBM Lotus Protector for Mail Security – Protects IBM Lotus® Domino® and mixed email infrastructure from spam, viruses and other threats originating on the Internet. Using software appliances means protection can be installed and running in a matter of hours.
- IBM WebSphere Application Server Hypervisor Edition– Offers all of the robust features of the WebSphere Application Server Family for virtual environments. By configuring and packaging as an appliance with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, customers can activate an optimized instance of WebSphere quickly and efficiently.
- IBM Cognos Now! – Delivers operational dashboards for real-time monitoring of key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics across disparate data sources.
- IBM Smart Analytics Optimizer – Enables a new class of high-speed business intelligence and analytic queries.
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