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IBM brings Workplace to Firefox

Stephen Shankland CNET News.com

Published: 10 Aug 2005 09:50 BST

IBM has updated its Workplace desktop software product with support for the Firefox Web browser, the company said on Tuesday.

IBM's Workplace software provides functions such as word processing, document storage and calendars. The processing actually takes place on a central server that people access with a Web browser.

Previously, IBM supported only Mozilla and Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Firefox is the default Web browser in Red Hat and SuSE Linux, though it's also widely used on Windows, and has been gaining market share.

IBM announced the move at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. However, it tipped its hand with the move when it advertised to hire Firefox programmers earlier this year.

IBM helped catalyse the Linux business with its vocal support of the open source operating system. It competes in the Linux server market against Dell and HP and in the Linux software market against BEA and Oracle.

Also at the show, IBM announced it has reorganised its Linux sales operations. Previously, products using the open source software were sold by specialists in those products — mainframes, Intel-based servers or WebSphere application software, for example.

Now, IBM uses an approach with sales specialists geared to customer headaches in specific industries such as insurance, aerospace, retail or entertainment, said Scott Handy, IBM's vice-president of worldwide Linux work. Other sales specialists also tackle specific information technology subjects such as increasing a business's flexibility, he said.