BELLEVILLE, ONT. – Touted as one of the first such facilities in Canada, Sun Microsystems of Canada Inc. and Belleville, Ont.’s Beonix Technology announced Friday the opening of the Sun Linux Competency Centre.
Sun, Beonix and City of Belleville officials were on hand for the official opening of the Centre, which features Sun thin client technology and will offer Linux technical training, workshops and services to customers using the Sun Linux platform and Sun Solaris environment.
“This development is exciting news for the City of Belleville…(it) demonstrates the level of technical and business expertise that exists in our community,” said Belleville Mayor George Zegouras.
Located at Beonix headquarters, the facility will promote and develop open standards and the interoperability of Sun and third-party solutions with the Sun Linux operating system, said Sun Vice-President of marketing and partners Brad Keates.
Linux is finally getting over the hump in terms of widespread awareness, said Beonix Technology President Chris Heaven.
Despite an economic downturn, organizations will ultimately have to upgrade their IT infrastructures, Heaven said, adding that the announcement enhances the IT solution provider’s ability to deliver a “viable alternative” to Wintel solutions.
Anthony Wright, a business development consultant for Markham, Ont.-based volume system provider (VSP) Albert White Technologies, said the centre’s small-town location allows for a change of pace and a more relaxed environment for users to learn about Linux and associated open-source technologies.
Wright noted the fact that the facility enables them to bring in customers to demonstrate the technology is “fantastic.”
He added, “I think Linux is here. Companies are looking for ways to cut costs. We’re going to be able to bring customers to the facility and show them the technology and see how it works and the benefits.”
The companies can be found at www.beonix.com and www.sun.com.
