Linux gets big Japanese boost

A division of Japanese telecommunications giant NTT has joined a Linux advocacy organisation and said that it will further invest in the open source operating system.

NTT Data Intellilink, the systems integration arm of NTT, said last Thursday that it has become a member of Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a global Linux advocacy group that counts among its members HP, IBM and several leading Linux distributors including Red Hat and SuSE Linux. OSDL provides services such as testing to promote the use of Linux in high-end computers.

Linux is being adopted widely by businesses in several industries, such as finance and banking, as a cost-effective replacement for servers that run Windows or Unix. But Linux has not made the same impact in the telecommunications industry, according to Linux providers. Systems for the telecommunications market, which often demand high reliability and performance, are typically built around the Unix operating system or Windows Server.

NTT Data Intellilink already offers some services, such as installing custom business applications, for Linux environments. By joining OSDL, the NTT subsidiary intends to bolster the capabilities of Linux for the telecommunications market. NTT Data Intellilink will work on more robust carrier-grade and data centre versions of Linux, the company said.

"We think that there are several challenges for open source software in mission-critical systems," Kou Miyake, CEO of NTT Data Intellilink, said in a statement. "We believe that OSDL provides a unique bridge between users, vendors and open-source communities."

OSDL said that the participation of NTT Data in the group will help drive the adoption of Linux in Japan.

Martin LaMonica writes for CNET News.com.