Novell Reduces Cost of Ownership for Linux on IBM System z

To further help customers experience the benefits of Linux* on the mainframe, Novell today announced simplified pricing and discounts throughout 2008 for SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server for IBM's System z mainframes. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z lets customers consolidate distributed workloads onto System z servers to help minimize costs, reduce downtime and data center complexity, and increase flexibility.

“We are pleased to be collaborating with Novell to support our mutual customers and business partners,” said Karl Freund, vice president of marketing for IBM System z. “This pricing is another example of Novell's commitment and support to help customers deploy Linux on System z to take advantage of server consolidation to reduce energy consumption and significantly lower their costs.”

Mark Shackelford, vice president of IT for Baldor Electric, said, “SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z provides us with a highly available system that delivers business value while significantly reducing our costs. System z can handle thousands of virtual servers, and standardizing on SUSE Linux Enterprise has significantly reduced the complexity of keeping pace with our company's growth.”

Pricing

Under the new pricing, customers can purchase a three-year basic subscription to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z for the cost of two years, or for 33 percent less. A five-year basic subscription to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z can be had for the price of three years, for a 47 percent discount. Available via Novell and joint Novell-IBM resellers, these discounts apply to workload consolidation from non-System z platforms and to renewals of existing SUSE Linux Enterprise Server subscriptions.

Roger Levy, Novell® senior vice president and general manager of Open Platform Solutions, said, “As data center directors struggle to control costs, they are simultaneously challenged to become more competitive and provide more services for their customers. They've typically responded by adding more servers to handle needed workloads, resulting in server sprawl and higher costs. By taking advantage of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server on the mainframe, customers are finding tremendous savings. This discount will make it even easier for customers to experience the benefits of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z.”

More information about SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z, including new pricing and discounts, can be found at www.novell.com/mainframe. The next-generation platform for the open enterprise, SUSE Linux Enterprise is the best-engineered and most interoperable platform for mission-critical computing, from the desktop to the data center. For more information on SUSE Linux Enterprise offerings from Novell, visit www.novell.com/linux.