OSDL gains two new members

The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) has bolstered its membership ranks with the addition of storage management software firm Veritas and terminal maker Wyse Technology on the opening day of LinuxWorld.

The OSDL is a global consortium that promotes the adoption of Linux in the enterprise. Among its members are Computer Associates, IBM, Intel and Oracle. The organisation is also the employer of Linux creator Linus Torvalds.

Wyse develops thin clients that run Linux. The organisation's decision to join the Linux body was predicted in vnunet.com's interview with the OSDL's William Weinberg.

The thin client manufacturer plans to join the OSDL desktop steering committee in an attempt to influence the standards set by the committee, according to Mike DeNeffe, senior director at Wyse.

"This gives us a chance to collaborate with the industry's biggest names which are investing in Linux," he said. "We feel that by providing our input, we can bring [thin clients] to the overall environment for the enterprise."

For Veritas, community outreach was a major reason for joining the open source body.

"We are hoping that people will see that Veritas is committed to Linux," said Ranajit Nevatia, director of Linux strategy at the vendor.

Veritas plans to get involved in the OSDL's data grid standardisation initiatives for Linux.

"As the Data Centre Grid Linux initiative gets talked about more by the customers and vendors, having an ISV representation becomes more important," said Nevatia.