IBM to standardize on Windows 2000

International Business Machines (IBM) will standardize on Windows 2000, purchasing 300,000 copies of the new operating system to install on all of its desktops across the enterprise. The announcement came this week in London at the Windows NT '99 trade show, though the company will, of course, continue to use Lotus desktop products. IBM owns Lotus.

"We have a standard desktop across the corporation and ours will be Windows 2000, with [Lotus] Notes and SmartSuite," said IBM marketing manager Dick Sullivan. However, "on the server side, people are going to be very cautious," he added.

Sullivan suggested to reporters that Windows 2000 would probably require two service packs before they trusted it on the server.

"It's exciting to see that a company as diverse as IBM is embracing Windows 2000 Professional across its desktops," said Windows 2000 marketing manager Nick McGrath. "It's a clear endorsement of how Windows 2000 Professional is the best OS for businesses of all sizes.