FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                   1998-09-04


                                        CONTACT:Richard Keech

                                                rkeech@cyber.com.au



                                                Con Zymaris

                                                conz@cyber.com.au



                                        PHONE:  03 9642 5997





-- Commercial grade support for Linux in Australia

-- keywords: Linux, Open Source, Cybersource, Support, Red Hat Software

Linux; the next wave



 The information age has seen a number of technology waves thunder in,

 changing the rules completely and making casualties of those who

 couldn't or wouldn't adapt.  The last one, the Internet, crashed into

 public view in 1992.  The next one is about to break.  It is Linux,

 the free operating system developed in 1992 by 21-year-old Finn, Linus

 Torvalds in Helsinki.



 Linus' genius wasn't so much in his programming (though it is mighty

 impressive).  His true genius was and still is his ability to build on

 the fine traditions of free software from the Unix operating system,

 and in being able to use the Internet effectively to bring together a

 team of hundreds of volunteer programmers.  The result is software

 that keeps turning the skeptics into converts.  And it's still all

 completely and absolutely free.



 Linux has been a well kept secret for a number of years, and has

 developed an enormous following (estimated to be in excess of 10

 million users and growing at more than 100% per annum).



 The software phenomenon that is Linux is now reaching critical mass.

 With cover features on Forbes magazine, and the announcement of Linux

 ports of their software by none other than Oracle, Corel and

 Inprise (Borland.)



 In old-school commercial circles, many IT managers won't touch Linux

 because they can't bring themselves to trust something you can

 download for nothing from the Net.  Despite this, many other have

 developed a grudging respect for Linux.  Many report that it simply

 never crashes, and that it works really well on modestly-specified

 systems that you wouldn't even think of running NT services on.

 never crashes, and that it works really well on modestly-specified

 systems that you wouldn't even think of running NT services on.

                                        

 The main reason many cite for not taking Linux seriously is a

 perceived lack of support.  This is despite Info World magazine giving

 its 1997 Product of the year award (Best Technical Support) to the

 Linux user community, who on the Internet and in small user

 communities around the globe, have been able to consistently give a

 level of service that many commercial providers only dream about.

 Cybersource catches the next wave



 Melbourne firm, Cybersource, is helping to herald this new computing

 era by announcing its partnership with Red Hat Software of North

 Carolina.  Cybersource have teamed with Red Hat to provide commercial

 support for Red Hat's much lauded version of Linux.



 "We're thrilled to have been chosen by Red Hat as their first

 Australian support partner" said Richard Keech of Cybersource.  "Red 

 Hat is going places fast with Linux, and it's great to be part of the

 action."



 Cybersource's young and energetic MD, Con Zymaris, said "We have

 absolutely no double that Linux is going to really take the IT world

 by surprise."



 Cybersource and Red Hat are filling the niche for commercial-style

 support for Linux.  "Before companies will commit to a product, they

 need to be confident that, if and when the need arises, there will be

 someone just a phone call (or email) away" says Cybersource's Richard

 Keech.  "It doesn't matter if it is free, because without this type of

 support, enterprises won't entrust their business servers to software

 they can't hold someone accountable for."

 

 Keech recounts how his Linux conversion was hearing how it was being

 successfully used in systems providing critical patient care in a

 large American cancer hospital in 1993.  "And Linux has improved a lot

 since then" Keech says.



 According to Zymaris, "We expect that with the support component in

 place, businesses with open-minded IT management will now take a

 serious look at Linux."  "The pattern is that once people see how good

 this software is, it quickly is absorbed into the enterprise IT

 framework, typically where there is a need for small to medium sized

 web, application and file servers."