From...

January 10, 2000
Web posted at: 11:03 a.m. EST (1603 GMT)

by Daniel Verton

(IDG) -- Linux, which has quietly been gaining ground in the commercial and government sectors for the past few years, appears poised to become the government’s operating system of choice for mission-critical applications.

Providing the boost will be GTSI, which told FCW last week that it plans to announce an agreement with Red Hat Inc. to become the first enterprise-level reseller of the Linux operating system in the federal information technology market.

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"Negotiations [with Red Hat] are in their final stages," said Mark Thoreson, inside sales manager for GTSI. Even without a contract in place, GTSI’s Linux sales surpassed $2 million last September, Thoreson said.

Linux already enjoys a robust presence throughout the federal market despite the common perception that it has yet to penetrate government IT shops.

Scientific and engineering organizations throughout the Transportation Department, the Navy, the Federal Communication Commission and other agencies already have Linux-based systems in place, Thoreson said.

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In addition to systems equipped with Red Hat’s Linux, GTSI also will offer a full line of support services, including site surveys, legacy system migration services and code development.

The company initially plans to add Linux services and opportunities to its National Institutes of Health and Scientific and Engineering Workstation Procurement contracts, Thoreson said.