Philippine-based software company Infostructure is set to begin porting its enterprise application into the Linux platform via the LEAP (Linux Enterprise Application Porting) center based here - a move that will make the company the first local beneficiary of the LEAP facility.
A partnership between Oracle Corporation and Red Hat, the LEAP center was established to grow the ecosystem of Asia-based independent software vendors (ISVs) and system integrators (SIs) delivering solutions on Linux. The LEAP Center is the first significant Linux initiative in the region and the first joint Oracle-Red Hat Linux solution center in the world.
"A software company in the Philippines named Infostructure will be coming in on the LEAP center this June, following the talks we had with them since January," disclosed Rebecca Sanda, Oracle senior director for Business Development Alliances and Channels.
Infostructure"s move to utilize the resources provided by the Oracle-Red Hat porting facility will position the Philippines in the mainstream of Linux adoption in the region.
Since it opened in June 2004, the LEAP center already has some 50 ISVs -- mostly based in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia -- on its system. Through the resources available in the LEAP center, some 13 enterprise applications have been ported into the Linux environment.
Oracle and Red Hat have jointly committed some US$12 million in software, training and support resources to run this facility over a three-year period.
"Compared with its counterparts in the West, Asia Pacific has been lagging behind in the adoption of Linux because of the perceived lack of support and technical resources (to successfully run enterprise applications in the Linux platform)," Oracle Corporation software development manager for Advanced Technology and Solutions Center Rishi Nayar said.
What both Oracle and Red Hat intend to accomplish via the LEAP center, stressed Nayar, is to accelerate the momentum of Linux adoption in the enterprise by providing both the technical tools and support needed to increase the availability of third-party Linux applications for the enterprise.
Oracle"s software development manager stressed that Oracle is a strong proponent of Linux since this open source platform is the very foundation of the company"s Grid Computing strategy. Also called "utility" or "on-demand" computing, the Grid architecture is based on the coordinated use of several small, standardized servers acting together as a single large computer.
Designed as a regional hub to harness the potential of Linux, the LEAP center is a one-stop-shop for ISVs and their Linux concerns. The center serves as a Linux enterprise software development test-bed and an architecture validation and tuning lab. It provides Enterprise Linux migration services, on-site or remote access, and application upgrade to Oracle 10g.
Nayar said that apart from the hardware and software facilities, the LEAP center provides training and certification for Oracle 10g, 10g RAC, and Red Hat. ISVs that have completed applications porting via the center are also given marketing assistance to push their new Linux enterprise applications in the market.
Philippines"s LEAP TO LEAP
"We are opening the LEAP center to all ISVs and SIs in the Philippines. In fact, in one event (early this month) in Manila, we had about 300 local ISVs present," Sanda said. "Obviously, the (LEAP) center is well-publicized in the country. We"re very happy with the interest and we hope more Filipino firms will be coming in on our LEAP facility in Singapore."
Oracle and Red Hat are eyeing to assist 200 Asia-based ISVs in porting their enterprise applications to Linux via the LEAP center by February 2007.
All ISV members of the Oracle Partner Network (OPN) are free to take advantage of the Oracle-Red Hat porting facility, and are enjoined to get in touch with either Red Hat or Oracle at leapcenter_ww@oracle.com.