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The main area of investment is in offering a server-managed suite of applications for desktops that will run on Linux, as well as other platforms.

The applications and services, delivered through Workplace Client Technology and Workplace Collaboration Services, will be available on a vast array of devices, from PCs to mobile phones, kiosks and shop-floor terminals.

'Since customers

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have been looking for ways to extend the value of Linux to the desktop, IBM felt the time was right to deliver a fully-supported Linux client alternative,' said Ambuj Goyal, general manager of Workplace, Portal and Collaboration Software, IBM. 'IBM is helping customers to more fully utilize the business benefits of the Linux platform by providing software on Linux to help build the front end of their solutions.'

The company will also invest heavily in its software, support and channel partners to get them up to speed on IBM's Linux strategy and to set up centres where customers can test out the kind of deployment they might use.

IBM says its Linux division has experienced double digit growth last year. Its interest in Linux has long been apparent though: in 2001 it promised to invest $1bn, with a further $3bn to follow. It also helped out Novell with $50mn when it bought second-placed Linux distro SUSE and donated 500 patents to the open source community.