IBM And SuSE Team To Offer A New Generation Of Enterprise Ready Linux Services

Worldwide Alliance Provides Unprecedented Linux Support For Corporate Users

NUREMBERG, GERMANY & ARMONK, NY - 27 Mar 2002: SuSE Linux and IBM today announced a broad services alliance that will enable both companies to jointly provide Linux support and services to corporate customers around the world.

In the agreement, IBM Global Services and SuSE will collaborate on support and professional services. IBM will package and support turnkey implementations of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), backed by SuSE's expert development, maintenance, and support teams. In addition to this complete services offering, the two organizations will also collaborate on customer engagements and supplement each other's skills to provide a formidable Linux services delivery capability for corporate customers.

"We are happy to partner with SuSE because it is an industry leader in delivering Linux enterprise products and services that corporate customers require. IGS's global reach and comprehensive portfolio of services and solutions, combined with SuSE's advanced Linux offerings, are the complete Linux solution for corporate enterprise customers," said Patricia Gibbs, Vice President, IBM Global Services, Linux Services.

The agreement provides for IBM and SuSE to jointly offer a full range of Linux services for the enterprise, including:

"With the new IBM and SuSE worldwide service alliance, corporate customers benefit from the availability of enterprise Linux solutions combined with a broad range of joint support and service offerings anywhere in the world. This is a major step to make Linux corporate computing a reality," said Gerhard Burtscher, CEO of SuSE Linux.

About SuSE
SuSE Linux AG, Nuremberg/Germany, is one of the world's leading providers of complete solutions based on the Open Source operating system Linux. In addition to operating systems and application software for private customers, SuSE Linux AG offers software solutions and complete systems for the deployment of Linux in companies. SuSE supports its enterprise customers with a comprehensive range of qualified consulting, training, and support services. The company, which hosts the world's largest development team for Open Source solutions, has made its unique project and support know-how accessible via the Internet in the largest existing Linux knowledge database. For further information on SuSE, please visit www.suse.com

About IBM Global Services
IBM Global Services is the world's largest information technology services provider, with approximately 150,000 professionals serving customers in 160 countries and annual revenue of more than $35 billion (2001). IBM Global Services integrates IBM's broad range of capabilities -- services, hardware, software and research -- to help companies of all sizes realize the full value of information technology. For more information, visit: www.ibm.com/services.