ACADEMIA

SOMERS, NY -- IBM today announced that Florida International University, a leading public research university, has selected IBM's DB2 database software running on Linux to power its High Performance Database Research Center. The university selected DB2 based on its reliability, scalability and superior performance capabilities. IBM's DB2 database running on Linux and an IBM SP Supercomputer powers applications for the university's cutting-edge TerraFly technology, one the largest publicly accessible databases on the Web. TerraFly, located at www.terrafly.com, enables users to see an overhead view of virtually any location in the United States based on images collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and other sources. For example, house-hunters can scan prospective neighborhoods, "see" homes in their selling prices, and click on a particular residence to retrieve a sales brochure. Travelers can fly over a resort area, zoom-in on an appealing vacation hideaway or hotel, then click on the image to access the establishment's online reservation system. "We chose DB2 running on Linux based on its stability, scalability and performance," said Dr. Napthali Rishe, director of FIU's High Performance Database Research Center. "There's almost no end to DB2's advantages, which include high efficiency, fast querying and search speed, and the ability to store very large amounts of data." Today, TerraFly supports users who want to view and manipulate images for the United States and the university's goal is to make mapping data available for the entire world within five years. The university anticipates that TerraFly, powered by IBM technology, will manage more than 20 terabytes of data--making it one of the largest databases supporting Web-based applications. The university estimates that it will generate up to $1 billion in annual revenue by marketing this technology. According to IDC, Linux will remain the fastest growing server operating system through 2005, with a new license revenue shipment compound annual growth rate of 23.6% percent to 2005. IBM's DB2 database software provides customers with the broadest Linux support in the industry, from the handheld to the mainframe - to clusters of mainframes. Florida International University joins a growing roster of IBM customers who are deploying DB2 on the Linux platform including: - AIRS - relies on DB2 running on Linux to power SearchStation, an online recruitment search tool. As a result of standardizing on DB2 and Linux, the company has provided users with faster and more accurate searches, cutting search times by 50 percent. - Clarity Incentive Systems - uses DB2 running on Linux to manage all of its financial data, including accounts, credit card transactions and customer activity. The company chose DB2 running on Linux based on its price and performance leadership over competitive offerings. - Structural Bioinformatics - DB2 running on Linux drives its drug discovery data management system that identifies and stores three-dimensional protein structures. As a result of standardizing with DB2 running on Linux, the company has reduced the cost of calculations from twenty-eight dollars to one dollar and generated a 75 percent increase in computing capacity.