Applix offers OLAP for Linux

Linux continues to receive support in the form of more and more product lines that work with the open source operating system.

Business tools and applications maker Applix today rolled out Applix TM 1 OLAP for Linux, an OLAP package for financial decision support and analysis on the open source operating system platform that is gaining more momentum and acceptability in the marketplace.

TM1 OLAP for Linux is the latest version of Applix TM1's portable OLAP environment that uses the Applixware Spreadsheet interface, providing a tool for developing real-time analysis and decision support applications.

Applix joins a growing group of software makers that have endorsed Linux and are providing products that support the operating system. Among the group are such major industry players as Netscape, Corel , Oracle, and Intel.

"I haven't seen any other vendors in the OLAP market providing this yet," said Giga Information Group analyst Teresa Wingfield. "If the demand for it is there, it makes sense," for them to provide the tool.

Applix is betting on the more than 7 million customers using Linux to use the TM1 OLAP for Linux to gain multidimensional views of their business with the new product.

Built on top of the RAM-based OLAP model, TM1 OLAP for Linux includes distributed system and real-time calculation features, as well as a browser facility.

Linux's popularity is being fueled by a number of factors.

The main reason is that initial adopters of the system--students and information system workers at universities, followed closely by Internet service providers--have entered the mainstream and brought the system with them. Many have installed the platform in clandestine sites within their new corporate homes. It's only now that corporations are coming forward or even finding out that Linux is running in their operations.

But in a strange catch-22, part of the reason these companies are coming forward is that their mainstream vendors are supporting the system.

The realization that Linux is a force to be reckoned with resonated in Silicon Valley the past year as vendors, one after another, hopped on the Linux bandwagon. But maybe even more importantly, it is being heard in Redmond, Washington, causing even Microsoft to take notice and call Linux one of the biggest threats to Windows NT.

Applix is no newcomer to the Linux space. Since its release in 1993, Applixware has developed into a popular office suite for the various Unix platforms, favored by more than 350,000 users worldwide. Applixware takes advantage of Linux's multiuser and multitasking capabilities.

"We thought it was a natural for us to provide the first OLAP tool," said Martin Richmond-Coggan, director of product management for TM1.

Due to ship in December, pricing for the Applix TM1 for Linux will start at $99.95.