Sybase Opens Linux Center

All gain, no pain—that was Sybase Inc.s pledge as it threw open the door to its new Linux Competency Center, a Linux professional services practice, in New York on Monday. The company also announced record test results for its ASE 12.5 database running on Linux.

According to Raj Nathan, senior vice president and general manager of Sybases Infrastructure Platform Group, customer interest in Linux has been growing steadily for the past two years. Mounting interest in Linux created the need for a center where customers can witness and tinker with enterprise solutions development, testing and troubleshooting of Sybase technology on Linux, including database, mobile and business intelligence applications.

“The spectrum of end users [looking into Linux] is wide, from those still talking about it to those who already put it into production and plan to do more,” said Nathan, in Dublin, Calif. “To cover the wide range—end users and partners—of people who need Linux knowledge and support, well have our solutions at this center so people can come and see if its real and not a fad or imaginary.”

The center will also provide customers with on-site support for migration to Linux. The center hosts a range of hardware and software platforms including products from Dell Computer Corp., Egenera Inc., Hewlett-Packard Co, IBM, Intel Corp., Red Hat Inc. and Sun Microsystems Inc.

Bill Marshall, director of marketing at Securify, a Mountain View, Calif., ISV that makes network security management software and which planned to demonstrate its software at the Linux center on Monday, said that the center will be a critical resource as the Linux kernel continues to evolve. “Were driven by our customers. If they want Linux, well provide it,” he said. “Linux is continuing to evolve, so having a resource thats there for us, particularly in the New York area—a lot of our customers are large financial organizations, and they cluster around New York—having an area where they can see the latest and greatest is an advantage to us.”