Novell Inc. Tuesday announced an agreement with the government of Switzerland to convert some 3,000 of its servers to the companys SUSE Linux operating system.
Operational efficiency and cost were key factors driving the Swiss governments decision to move to Linux, according to Novell.
Novell did not disclose the value of the contract but did say it was the first formal procurement of any Linux platform by the Swiss government.
"Linux has been gradually introduced into various government departments in recent years, but this is the first formalized procurement process regarding the introduction of Linux at a federal level," said Jurg Roemer, Delegate for Information Strategy of the Swiss Federal Government.
"The agreement we have reached applies to the entire Federal Government and will see the adoption of Novells SUSE Linux throughout the Swiss federal administration."
Since Novell acquired Germanys SUSE Linux two years ago, it has made a handful of noteworthy enterprise Linux deals to go with many smaller transactions.
Last August, for example, the company announced an agreement to supply 250,000 of its Linux desktops to Argentina.
Read the full story on DesktopLinux.com: Swiss Government Switches 3,000 Systems to Linux
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