Sun Pushes Linux into Retail

The Sun-Tomax solution was to get rid of the Windows servers and substitute a cluster of eight Sun servers running Linux sitting in a data-center that is professionally managed in a high-availability environment. In September, the companies plan to add six more servers to that cluster, according to Klingler.

Sun Microsystems is attaching itself to Linux's growth in the retail market with today's announcement that it has made inroads into five chain stores by teaming up with Tomax Corporation. There's a good reason Sun has been porting its Solaris server to the Linux operating system. Tomax predicts that "80 percent of the new installations of our retail product will be on Linux," Steve Klingler, vice president of outsourcing at Tomax, told LinuxInsider.

"Sun's wide range of systems is giving Sun significant inroads into an industry that demands choice and is now embracing innovative and cost-effective models for running their business," said Bob DeLaney, group manager for worldwide market development at Sun, in a statement.

While so far most retailers have been reluctant to give up their mostly proprietary systems, that's changing. Retailers as diverse as Kelly-Moore Paints, Guitar Center, Air Terminal Gifts, Happy Harry's and Balducci's have chosen the Sun-Tomax Solaris-Linux solution. It's a hosted application that provides end-to-end network services for retail customers.

View: Complete Article