The year was 1998.
Linux, now known as the versatile
and open operating system
powering everything from the world's fastest supercomputers,
to phones and self-driving cars,
was just emerging as the
hot new operating system for startups,
early e-businesses,
and edge servers.
But Linux had yet to make an impact
on the enterprise market.
Its open-source nature,
now the standard for the industry,
was still a novel concept.
The idea of freely sharing code
and collaborating over the Internet
was even deemed countercultural and risky.
But open innovation is at the core of IBM's DNA,
and it saw the operating system's
vast potential for enterprise.
Then, in 2000,
IBM became the first enterprise IT company
to go all in on Linux—
opening up its IBM Z mainframe
to the open Linux operating system.
This proved a pivotal moment in history,
kickstarting two decades of open innovation.
Bringing Linux to Z
made the unique capabilities of IBM Z—
the ability to securely manage billions of transactions—
portable across applications.
Simply put, this means the workloads could easily
be moved from one computer system to another,
allowing for much greater flexibility
in managing data and applications.
In 2015
IBM accelerated its momentum with LinuxONE.
The most powerful and secure enterprise server,
designed for the new application economy.
Which leads to today: the era of hybrid cloud.
Enabled by Red Hat OpenShift,
Red Hat Enterprise Linux
and IBM Cloud Paks,
IBM Z is built to lead in the hybrid cloud era.
Two-thirds of the Fortune 100 run on IBM Z systems.
And more than 90 percent of the top 100
IBM Z enterprises are running Linux on Z,
including banks, airlines and retailers.
But what makes IBM Z so ideal for this environment?
Today, clients are moving to the hybrid cloud.
With that comes a demand for secure,
agile,
and continuously available platforms
to keep data secure and manageable
across different architectures.
Running on Linux.
IBM z15 and LinuxONE
were designed for exactly this scenario.
The formula:
linking IBM Z's unique
transaction capabilities and security
with the power and flexibility
of Red Hat's open hybrid cloud portfolio.
And at the heart of it all is Linux.
The crucial foundation
to the success of the hybrid cloud.
20 years ago,
IBM helped boost Linux from the lofty idea
of a free and open-source operating system
to a broad collaborative platform for innovation.
And today,
IBM is positioned to help clients
accelerate their cloud journeys like never before.