This solution runs open standards-based email, word processing,spreadsheets, unified communication, social networking and other softwareto any laptop, browser, or mobile device from a virtual desktop login on aLinux-based server configuration.

A virtual desktop looks like a traditional desktop but is not limited to asingle physical computer. Instead, many virtual Linux desktops are hostedon a server. The combined solution includes:

Virtual desktop provided by Virtual Bridges called Virtual EnterpriseRemote Desktop Environment (VERDE);

Ubuntu, the worldwide leading Linux desktop operating system, fromCanonical; and

IBM Open Collaboration Client Solution software (OCCS) based on IBMLotus Symphony, IBM Lotus Notes and Lotus applications. IBM Lotus Symphonyis built on the Open Document Format (ODF).

Today's news builds on announcements throughout 2008 around deliveringMicrosoft-alternative desktops in conjunction with our partners. Thissolution is now a key component of IBM's financial services front officetransformation offering as well as part of the IBM public sector industrysolution framework.

"When we look back several years from now, I think we'll see this time asan inflection point when the economic climate pushed the virtual Linuxdesktop from theory to practice," said Inna Kuznetsova, director, IBM LinuxStrategy. "The financial pressures on organizations are staggering and themanagement of PCs is unwieldy. Today's virtual desktop is deliveringsuperior collaborative software, an innovative delivery method, and anopen-source operating system that is demanding clients' consideration."

Compared to Microsoft-based desktops, this virtual desktop solution,including industry-leading components from IBM, Virtual Bridges andCanonical, is estimated on average to deliver cost savings from:

Licensing: cost avoidance of $500 to $800 per user on software licensefor Microsoft Office, Windows and all related products (1);

Hardware: cost avoidance of around $258 per user since there is no needto upgrade hardware to support Windows Vista and Office 2007 (2);

Power consumption: cost avoidance of $40 to $145 per user from reducedpower to run the configuration and $20 to $73 per user from reduced airconditioning requirements from lower powered desktop devices annually (3);and

IT services: 90 percent savings of deskside PC support; 75 percent ofsecurity/user administration; 50 percent of help desk services such aspassword resets, and 50 percent for software installations, which arereplaced by software publishing (4)

"With the benefits of open standards over a proprietary platform come thefreedom to select software in a heterogeneous environment," said MalcolmYates, vice president, Canonical. "Combining Ubuntu with IBM's Open Clientsoftware applications we can break out of Microsoft dependencies completelyand significantly reduce total cost of ownership."

Two Views of the Virtual Desktop

From the end user's point of view, the virtual desktop combining solutionfrom IBM, Virtual Bridges and Canonical looks like a traditional desktopbut is not limited to a single physical computer. Instead of the softwareand data being saved on a user's desktop, the hosted applications permitthe user to access the screen data. That means users can access theircomputers on any network-connected device anywhere they happen to be.Software fixes are automatically inherited to the user sessions withoutanyone having to visit the decentralized access point. All the applicationsthat a user might need -- such as email, calendaring, word processing andteam collaboration -- are available.

From the IT department's view, the difference between virtual and physicaldesktop is significant. For this virtual system, all administrativeintervention is done on consolidated virtual machines in the data centerthrough deployment of standard images. When there is a software updaterequired, the IT manager can do it centrally. The IT manager can runconcurrent Linux desktop sessions from any x86 Linux server, such as ablade server. Users can access their Linux desktop sessions from not onlyendpoints running Linux, but Windows and Mac as well, which is critical asusers seek standard application environments across heterogeneous physicaldesktops. The solution includes a seamless remote printing capabilitywithout the need to maintain drivers.

"The wave of virtualization has hit the datacenter but bypassed the frontoffice," said Jim Curtin, president and CEO of Virtual Bridges. "Protectingthe security of each desktop individually is a Herculean task for mostorganizations. Today, understaffed IT departments can't afford desksidevisits and the help desk requests that accompany traditional desktopmaintenance. With a virtual desktop, centralized control means the loss ortheft of a laptop is no longer a corporate crisis. The IT staff caninstead focus on ramping up capacity and services as the business demands."

IBM Global Technology Services

IBM services can help roll out this offering, as well as other customizedvirtual desktops. IBM Virtual Infrastructure Access service helpscustomers transform their distributed IT architectures into virtualized,open-standards-based frameworks. It provides centralized IT services, androbust application and desktop delivery. It combines hardware, softwareand services to connect customers' authorized users toplatform-independent, centrally managed applications and full client imagesrunning in virtual machines.

The IBM Open Collaboration Client Solution

The Open Collaboration Client Solution provides email, calendaring, wordprocessing, spreadsheets, presentations, unified communication, socialnetworking, team collaboration and portals, based on IBM Lotus Notes 8 andIBM Lotus Symphony. The software is built on open standards, based on theopen-source Eclipse Rich Client Platform and supports Open Document Format(ODF). For more information visit,http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/lotus/library/occs-overview/

Virtual Bridges' VERDE

VERDE is the first true Linux-only (host, guest and client) virtual desktopinfrastructure solution offering integrated connection broker, robustKVM-based VM technology, multimedia and sound support, local printingsupport and many other features typical only found in Windows-basedsolutions. VERDE surpasses Windows-based VDI systems with lowercost-of-ownership, ease-of-use, security, flexibility as well as easierdeployment and ongoing management.

Availability and Pricing

The virtual desktop is generally available now in most geographies and manylanguages by contacting IBM or Virtual Bridges. Standard pricing for a1,000-user VERDE deployment is $49 per user. Additional volume discountsare available by contacting Virtual Bridges at sales@vbridges.com.

Footnotes:

(1) Comparison based on information and pricing as listed onsoftarespectrum.com, office.microsoft.com and ibm.com as of announcementdate.

(2) Comparison based on information and pricing as listed on bestbuy.com,as of announcement date.

(3) This is based on customer experience from delivering desktopvirtualization solutions. Estimates for this range are between a 10hours/240 day year and a 24/7/365 day year. This is estimated at 50percent of operating cost savings. Actuals may vary based on location,weather and efficiency of cooling equipment. This does not include thesavings due to server consolidation on System z Linux.

(4) Based on IBM, market research and customer experience from deliveringdesktop virtualization solutions.

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Contact info:Colleen HaikesIBM media relations415-545-4003chaikes@us.ibm.com