Lotus Notes 8.5 to fully support Ubuntu Linux 7.0 in mid-'08

Satyadas said IBM thinks that this year, it will happen.

"All the stars are lining up," he said. "Everybody has been saying that since 2001 except IBM. We never said that, but we are saying that now."

In the past, IBM has said Linux on the corporate desktop wouldn't happen until the operating system was good enough to allow companies to have all the functions they need to run their businesses. At the same time, an adequate supply of critical business software that would run reliably and efficiently on Linux would be needed.

"We are putting our money where our mouth is," Satyadas said. "We think now the time is really[here]" and the needed business applications are available to make it work for enterprises.

"Linux is cool now," he said. "We use it ourselves. We are able to offer a secure, rich and cost-effective Microsoft alternative."