Zahid Tractor and Heavy Machinery Company has rolled out Linux across its Kingdom wide systems, with the help of Saudi Business Machines (SBM), the general marketing and services representative of IBM WTC in Saudi Arabia. By replacing its Microsoft Windows servers with Linux, Zahid Tractors has reduced its server technology costs by as much as 25 percent.
The new IBM x-Series servers running Linux handle Web Services, file and print services, messaging and business applications for Zahid Tractor. Project details are available at zahid.com. Click on “Linux” under “The Company.”
“Maintaining a reliable and high-performance technology infrastructure is of paramount importance for Zahid Tractor. We have to provide critical business systems and maintain the flow of vital financial and inventory information between our network of 26 branches around Saudi Arabia, catering to a number of different customer groups,” said Nasser J. Bayram, IT director, Zahid Tractor. “We investigated Linux as a solution to our cost, portability, scalability, security and performance issues, and found that it presented a very compelling solution.”
Zahid Tractor trained its existing staff and started a pilot project in March 2002 with the help of SBM and IBM professional services. In December 2002, it completed the pilot project to convert all of its Head Office servers to Linux. A Kingdom-wide conversion of all Windows 2000 servers to Red Hat 7.3 Linux servers marks the end of Phase I of this project.
“Linux is clearly a server platform for the enterprise of the future. Many of the largest corporations in the world are taking advantage of its power and scalability, just as many smaller ones value its cost effectiveness,” said Ahmed Shelbaieh, SBM client representative manager, Western Region. “We enjoyed working with Zahid Tractor on this project, as it makes so much sense technically and business-wise. SBM hopes that this implementation will show other organizations in the Gulf that Linux is a powerful, truly enterprise-quality platform, with all of the flexibility that open-standards software allows.”
Arab News Compunet 15 July 2003