May 3, 2001 10:40 AM PDT

Venezuela banks on IBM Linux mainframe

By Stephen Shankland
Staff Writer, CNET News

Share
- Digg
- Del.icio.us
- Reddit
- Facebook
Email
Print

Related Stories: Server start-up banking on novel design
May 2, 2001; SuSE: Germany tops Linux market
March 26, 2001; IBM overhauls mainframe operating system
March 24, 2001

Venezuelan bank Banco Mercantil buys into IBM's strategy of using Linux on a mainframe computer.

The bank, one of Venezuela's largest, will move tasks currently running on 30 Windows NT servers onto a mainframe running Linux, IBM said. Customers checking account information over the Internet also will be using the mainframe's services.

In a second phase, the bank will move functions currently running on Hewlett-Packard and Sun Microsystems Unix servers to the mainframe.

IBM is using Linux to rejuvenate the decades-old mainframe line, which still is respected despite its age, dwindling sales and steep price tags. Internet software packages are available for Linux, a clone of Unix, and numerous programmers are using Linux.

IBM is in the midst of a $1 billion effort to promote and improve Linux. Big Blue is spreading Linux across all four of its server lines.

Banco Mercantil is using the version of Linux from Germany's SuSE, widely regarded as the second most influential Linux software seller after Red Hat.

Latest tech news headlines

EIC Squared: Chrome, iPods, and a Dell-Salesforce union
Posted in Outside the Lines by Dan Farber

September 5, 2008 2:52 PM PDT
Start-up launches spectrum marketplace
Posted in News - Wireless by Marguerite Reardon

September 5, 2008 2:24 PM PDT
Umbrella Today keeps you dry, informed about moisture
Posted in Webware by Josh Lowensohn

September 5, 2008 2:07 PM PDT

Resource center from News.com sponsors

What you need in business class email.

Mailtrust

Never worry about email again. From mobility and shared calendaring to virus and spam protection starting at only $3 per mailbox. more>

Total Email Relief

We'll take care of your email so you can take care of your business.

14 Day Free Trial

With expert support 24x7x365 we guarentee 100% uptime. Try us for free for 14 days. Never worry about your email again.

Just $3 per mailbox

Choose the plan that is right for your company and only pay for what you need.

RSS Feeds

Add headlines from CNET News to your homepage or feedreader.

More feeds available in our RSS feed index.

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right

News - Business Tech
Samsung contemplating SanDisk acquisition
South Korean consumer electronics giant is considering a buyout of the chipmaker to reduce its NAND flash memory costs, according to PaidContent.
Gallery
Images: The art of 'Spore' prototypes
Will Wright and his Maxis team worked on dozens of prototypes to test the elements of their soon-to-be-released evolution game. Here's a sampling.
The Open Road
Analysts as a lagging indicator of success
Gartner, Forrester, and other analyst firms tend to be great predictors of the past, probably because that's where they get their money.
Outside the Lines
EIC Squared: Chrome, iPods, and a Dell-Salesforce union
On this week's EIC Squared podcast CNET's Dan Farber and ZDNet's Larry Dignan discuss Google's latest rocket launch--the Chrome browser--as well as Apple's iPod event next week and a Dell-Salesforce.com union.
Video
Katie Couric reflects on first webcast
The political conventions are over and so are CBS "Evening News" anchor Katie Couric's first series of Webcasts. CNET's Kara Tsuboi sat down with Couric on the final night of the RNC to discuss what she liked about Webcasting, some of her most memorable guests and if TV news could be dead by the next round of conventions in four years.
News - Wireless
Start-up launches spectrum marketplace
A new company called Spectrum Bridge has launched a Web site for buying and selling wireless spectrum licenses.
Video
YouTube plays party politics
During the presidential campaigning four years ago, YouTube didn't even exist. Now it's a tool candidates must master to get their message across. CNET's Kara Tsuboi stops by the YouTube upload booths at the Democratic and Republican conventions to find out why Google's video site has such a big presence in Denver and St. Paul, Minn.
News - Gaming and Culture
Are Demo and TechCrunch50 fragmenting their audiences?
With both events scheduled to start Monday, many press, as well as venture capitalists and others are having to choose which one to attend.
News - Cutting Edge
Execs predict next Google-like tech
On eve of company's 10-year anniversary, researchers and business pundits speculate about what technologies might someday have as much impact as Google.
Gallery
Photos: Future Combat Systems, here and now
The U.S. Army has ambitious plans for a widespread high-tech refresh of its vehicles and other soldier gear. It's also finding a way to make some parts happen sooner rather than later.
Crave
Zune phone concept: Hot or not?
Yanko Design has imagined a concept for a Microsoft Zune phone.
Green Tech
Duke Energy to invest in mini solar power plants
Can hundreds of rooftop solar panels collectively operate like a central power plant? Duke Energy launches $100 million distributed solar program to find out.