Compaq Commitment to Open Source Community

Compaq Extends Commitment to Open Source Community with Six New Linux Initiatives

COMPAQ EXTENDS COMMITMENT TO OPEN SOURCE COMMUNITY WITH SIX NEW LINUX INITIATIVES

AUCKLAND, June 20, 2001 - Compaq has expanded its global Linux leadership with six initiatives to meet demand for commercially viable Linux solutions. This expansion builds on Compaq's long commitment to the open source community - from the infrastructure to the edge of the network.

"As the Linux platform becomes more commercially viable, customers around the world are turning to Compaq for innovative technology, strong partnerships, and proven solutions," said Mike Hill, director of enterprise solutions and services group for Compaq Computer New Zealand.

"Our ten years of experience with the open source community ensures that Linux solutions deployed on Compaq systems will dovetail easily with existing IT infrastructures and offer the same superior levels of compatability, manageability, and performance they expect from Compaq."

The six new Linux-focused initiatives include: 1. High-performance Beowulf clustering 2. A program for interoperability and portability between Linux and UNIX 3. Investment and participation in a Linux lab 4. Training and certifying system engineers 5. Contributing SSI clustering technology to the open source 6. Fostering development of Linux applications for handheld devices According to International Data Corporation (IDC), Compaq ProLiant(tm) servers are the industry-leading platform for Linux, with 22 percent market share in server shipments for the first quarter of 2001, beating Linux servers from major industry competitors including IBM and Dell. For the year 2000, Compaq leads the industry with a 30.5 percent revenue market share for all Linux server shipments.

Compaq provides Linux solutions from the edge of the network to the heart of the IT infrastructure. Compaq supports customers not only by certifying platforms with the major Linux distributions, but also by providing global 24x7 support in Compaq call centres worldwide and professional services for IT assessment, architecture/design, implementation/integration and on-site management and training.

A Closer Look At The Six Initiatives: 1. High-performance Beowulf clustering - Compaq will draw on more than 20 years of experience in clustering to enable enterprises to build supercomputer-like clusters for high-compute applications such as those needed in the oil and gas, aerospace, finance, and biotechnology industries. To achieve this, Compaq is partnering with leading Linux players to deliver Beowulf clustering solutions on the industry-standard ProLiant server platform.

2. A Program for interoperability and portability between Linux and UNIX - a new Linux and Tru64 Affinity Program will offer a portfolio of software tools and services that allow both interoperability and application mobility within mixed Linux and Tru64 UNIX environments. It enables customers to seamlessly implement a mixed environment of Linux on Compaq ProLiant or AlphaServers and Tru64 UNIX using common user interfaces, applications, and management capabilities. In addition, customers can protect their investments by developing applications on Linux and moving them to Tru64 UNIX or vice-versa for increased reliability, availability and serviceability, and overall lower deployment costs.

3. Investment and participation in a Linux lab - Compaq will participate in the Oracle® Linux Lab to optimise kernel development and performance. Enhancing Compaq's long-standing global alliance with Oracle Corporation will advance development of Linux solutions and working together with Oracle in the Linux lab capitalises on respective strengths and expertise in developing more reliable and scalable next-generation Linux applications

4. Training and certifying system engineers - to meet the growing demand for qualified Linux system engineers, Compaq is adding an Accredited Systems Engineer (ASE) certification level for Linux to the Compaq Accredited Professionals Program (CAPP). Compaq Accredited Professionals are trained to plan, deploy, troubleshoot and maintain their company's systems and solutions. They include Compaq customers, authorised resellers, service providers and integration specialists, plus information-management personnel responsible for Compaq solutions and systems.

5. Contributing SSI clustering technology to the open source - to make enterprise server clusters more manageable, Compaq has made its Single System Image (SSI) Clustering Technology available on Linux and is working with the open source community to make SSI clusters ready for production. SSI treats multiple servers as if they were one server, giving administrators and application users a single view of the cluster to simplify common system tasks such as load balancing, server expansion on demand, password sign-on, software upgrades, and application access.

6. Fostering development of Linux applications for handheld devices - Compaq has announced an application development contest for handheld devices to drive development and adoption of Linux applications on hand-held devices such as the Compaq iPAQ. A number of contest winners including one grand prize winner will be announced at Linux World in August 2001.

For more information on Compaq's Linux initiatives, see http://www.compaq.com/linux

COMPANY BACKGROUND

Compaq Computer Corporation, a Fortune Global 100 company, is a leading global provider of technology and solutions. Compaq designs, develops, manufactures, and markets hardware, software, solutions, and services, including industry-leading enterprise computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, and communications products, commercial desktop and portable products, and consumer PCs that are sold in more than 200 countries. Information on Compaq and its products and services is available at www.compaq.co.nz

This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The potential risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others: market conditions, particularly in the U.S.; increased competitive environment and pricing pressures; disruptions related to restructuring activity and delays in the implementation of changes in delivery models. Further information on these and other factors that could affect Compaq's financial results is included in Compaq's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, including the latest Annual Report on form 10-K and the latest quarterly report on Form 10-Q.

© Scoop Media