IBM AIX operating system receives X/Open UNIX branding

Uniforum '95, DALLAS -- March 14, 1995 -- (Business Wire) -- IBM announced today that it has received the X/Open UNIX(b) brand for both Version 3.2.5 and Version 4.1 of AIX, the industry-leading operating system for its RISC System/6000(a) (RS/6000(a)) family of workstations and servers.

"IBM has worked diligently with others in the UNIX industry to achieve a UNIX branding program under the stewardship of X/Open," said Bill Filip, general manager, IBM RISC System/6000 division. "We believe this has value to our customers and are pleased to support it with the branding of AIX."

Announced at the same time was IBM's intent to comply with the full Single UNIX Specification in a future release of IBM AIX Version 4. Initially known as Spec 1170, the Single UNIX Specification was approved and published by X/Open in October, 1994.

In order to be granted the right to use the X/Open UNIX 95 brand and name, products must implement the services as specified in the Single UNIX Specification, pass the X/Open test suites for compliance to the specification, and meet the conditions of the trademark license agreement.

IBM AIX Version 4 received the XPG4 Base brand from X/Open in September, 1994, a month after Version 4 general availability. The Single UNIX Specification includes XPG4 Base Version 2 and, in addition, provides a large number of application programming interfaces (APIs) that have been shown to be commonly used by mainstream applications. The advantage to developers is that the Single UNIX Specification enables a higher degree of application portability.

"AIX Version 4 is getting excellent grades from our customers," said Donna Van Fleet, vice president, AIX Systems Development, IBM RISC System/6000 Division. "From its inception, AIX has been committed to industry standards and X/Open branding. With the X/Open UNIX brand for AIX, IBM assures our customers that they are buying a certified UNIX implementation; moreover, one that delivers exceptional quality, robustness, and ease-of-use."

(a) Indicates trademark or registered trademark of the International Business Machines Corp.

(b) UNIX is a registered trademark in the United States and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Limited. IBM AIX Version 3.2.5 and IBM AIX Version 4.1 for the RS/6000 family of systems are branded X/Open UNIX 93.

X/Open is a trademark of X/Open Company Limited.

CONTACT: IBM Gregory T. Golden, 914/766-3943, or William O'Leary, 914/766-3642 14:14 ET MAR 14, 1995