IBM, SSA Bundle ERP Apps on Linux Blades

Published: April 25, 2006

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

Server maker IBM and ERP software supplier SSA Global have teamed up to bundle SSA's ERP(LN) software suite on Big Blue's Opteron-based servers and using its WebSphere middleware stack and the Linux operating system.

ERP(LN) is what used to be called the Baan ERP suite before that Dutch ERP giant fell on hard times and was ultimately eaten by the SSA Global collective. The Baan ERP suite was originally created for Unix servers, and has been ported under the ERP(LN) name to the Linux operating system. In this case, IBM and SSA are bundling the product on a very specific IBM machine--the BladeCenter using the LS20 Opteron-based blade servers--and using as very specific Linux--Novell's SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9. The bundle also includes IBM's DB2 database, its WebSphere Application Server, its WebSphere Enterprise Service Bus (which is some gobbledygook that is at the heart of a service oriented architecture), and SSA Integration, which provides SOA links into the SSA(LN) suite.

The hardware/software bundle will initially be available in North America, and will eventually be sold worldwide. IBM and SSA did not provide prices, but presumably it comes with a pretty heft discount over the cost of the individual components.