Responding to what it calls a "growing groundswell of customer demand" for Linux, SAP AG today announced it will offer its SAP R/3 enterprise resource planning (ERP) software on the upstart operating system.
SAP will give details of the new software release at the CeBIT 99 trade show to be held in Hanover, Germany, in two weeks, the company said today. The first customer shipment of R/3 on Linux is due in the third quarter of this year, SAP said.
At CeBIT, SAP will present live demos of SAP R/3 running in the Linux environment. The company also will detail the broad support it has received form its major hardware and software partners for its plans to deliver SAP R/3 on Linux, the ERP vendor said. Those vendors also will offer Linux-based systems, tools and databases as well as provide maintenance and support in conjunction with SAP's offering, according to SAP.
The growing industry support for Linux is proof that the operating system has emerged as a stable and reliable platform for business computing, SAP said.