World's largest Linux migration gets major boost

The German national railway puts all its weight behind open-source

By Kieren McCarthy

February 4, 2005 12:00 PM ET

TechWorld.com - The world's largest Linux migration is speeding ahead, with the German national railway announcing today that it has successfully moved all of its 55,000 Lotus Notes users to the open-source operating system.
Describing the moment as the first important milestone in its companywide move to Linux, Deutsche Bahn said it expects the move to provide continuous cost savings, greater flexibility and integration benefits as it gradually moves the rest of its business over.
The company has already shifted its vital train timetabling system from HP Non-Stop to Linux. Next, it will move various SAP systems, including sales support, from Unix to Linux. And by the end of the year, all remaining critical systems such as databases, application servers, Web servers, mail servers and network infrastructure will be running on Linux, the company said.
The vast project -- which dwarfs even the frequently noted migration of the Munich Council to Linux -- was agreed to last year, with half of its 300 or so servers moved by November 2004. The announcement today demonstrates that the company is determined to move ahead with the adoption of open-source software.
"Our mission is to develop and deliver an efficient and economical IT service for German railways. Linux is a key element in our strategy, and the smooth process of migrating our mainframe-based Lotus Notes system is a clear sign that this major project will be successful," said Detlef Exner, director of production at Deutsche Bahn's IT service provider, DB Systems.
Deutsche Bahn's systems run mostly on hardware from IBM, which is overseeing the rollout.
"This strategic choice is further proof that Linux has matured as a strategic enterprise platform offering a variety of advantages like cost savings, shorter development time and a high level of security," said Steve Menadue, European vice president for IBM's technology group. "IBM continues to deliver strong support for Linux across all of IBM's technology platforms as still more companies look for simple, safe and cost-effective enterprise computing."

Reprinted with permission from

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Additional Resources

Xerox

Win a color printer!

By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!

Microsoft

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 today.

Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Sustaining SOX Compliance: Best Practices to Mitigate Risk, Automate Compliance, and Reduce Costs
Since the adoption of SOX, much has been learned about IT compliance. Discover how to make SOX efforts more effective in "Sustaining Sox...

IDC Webcast: Linux Adoption in a Global Recession
Join Al Gillen from IDC and Michael Applebaum from Novell in this on-demand webcast to see how Linux has emerged as an even...

IDC White Paper: CCM for IT Compliance and Risk Management
Learn from industry analysts how IT organizations are using configuration management to meet compliance requirements and instill best practices. Find out how these...

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

Keep it Clean: Maintaining the Integrity of your CMDB through Change Detection
Learn how configuration drift can challenge configuration management database (CMDB) integrity and how a configuration audit tool and an effective change management process...

The Value of Real SaaS at Workday
Cost savings, speed to value, and innovation brought to the enterprise by Workday's software-as-a-service solutions for HR and Payroll....

The Tripwire HIPAA Solution: Meeting the Security Standards Set Forth in Section 164
HIPAA requires businesses that handle personal health information (PHI) to set up strong controls to ensure the security and integrity of that information....

SaaS at Flextronics, Inc.
Dave Smoley, CIO of Flextronics, discusses the real value of software-as-a-service and why he chose Workday for his HR solution....

Configuration Assessment: Choosing the Right Solution
Configuration assessment lets businesses proactively secure their IT infrastructure and achieve compliance with important industry standards and regulations. Learn why configuration assessment is...

Why Compliance Pays
This OnDemand webcast explores the relationship that firms with best compliance records have higher revenue, greater customer retention, lower financial losses from data...

All White Papers | All Webcasts