FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Nancy J. Smith
The Open Group
+1 (415) 323-7992, ext. 238
n.smith@opengroup.org
Marilyn Kilcrease
Fleishman Hillard
+1 (415) 356-1031
kilcream@fleishman.com
Menlo Park, CA (March 12, 1997) — The Open Group today announced the availability of Version 2 of the industry-standard Single UNIX Specification, a specification targeted at providing greater functionality, compatibility, ease of use, and business value for UNIX system end-user customers, system vendors and software developers. Signaling strong vendor commitment to the future of the UNIX systems platform, the availability of the Single UNIX Specification, Version 2 is the first step in the process that will lead to the development of next-generation UNIX systems technology and branded systems.
The latest version of the Single UNIX Specification incorporates standards for threads, which the ISVs have been seeking for some time; realtime, which is a key requirement of the federal government; a clean-up of multiple bit processing, which emerged from the Aspen Project; and some year 2000 issues.
According to Allen Brown, The Open Group’s Chief Operating Officer, the availability of the Single UNIX Specification, Version 2 is the latest in a series of events that demonstrate the substantial investment and commitment of system vendors and software developers to the future growth and enhanced capability of the UNIX operating system.
"The Single UNIX Specification brand program has achieved critical mass: vendors whose products have met the demanding criteria for and have been awarded the UNIX 95 brand now account for the majority of UNIX systems by value," said Brown. "Hewlett-Packard Company and SCO have offered the ‘Lodi’ API specification matrix to The Open Group for consideration by the consensus process and now the industry has agreed upon a second version of the Single UNIX Specification."
UNIX Systems Marketplace Continues Strong Growth
According to Jean S. Bozman, research manager of UNIX systems and Client/Server Operating Environments at International Data Corporation, sales of UNIX systems – including UNIX workstations and UNIX servers – grew at 12 per cent according to preliminary 1996 data. "There has been an increasing level of industry-wide collaboration around the Single UNIX Specification, or UNIX 95, which has resulted in a larger UNIX target market for corporate software developers and ISVs writing enterprise applications," Bozman said.
According to Graham Bird, Director of Branding for The Open Group’s, UNIX 98 reflects the continuing growth in the marketplace of UNIX as the operating system of choice among end-users of enterprise wide information systems.
"Building on UNIX 95, these new standards represent the next step in the evolution and continued growth of the UNIX operating system," said Allen Brown, Chief Operating Officer, The Open Group. "UNIX 98 is a result of the collaboration of vendors and users to increase the compatibility of the operating system."
About The Open Group
Dedicated to the advancement of multi-vendor information systems, The Open Group is an international consortium of systems and software vendors and customers from the industry, government and academia. The Open Group and its members work together to strengthen and streamline the development process and availability of open systems. The organization provides a focal point for the development of international specifications and test suites, standards based technologies, advanced open systems research, professional services and the management of the internationally recognized brand for open systems. The Open Group's brand mark is recognized worldwide and is a guarantee of compliance to open systems specifications.
The Open Group is Headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with European headquarters in Reading, England and offices in Menlo Park, CA; Washington, DC; Brussels, Belgium; Grenoble, France; and Tokyo, Japan.
The Open Group is a trademark of the Open Software Foundation, Inc. and X/Open Company Ltd. OSF/Motif and Motif are registered trademarks of The Open Group. X Window System is a trademark of The Open Group and the X Consortium is a trademark of The Open Group. UNIX is a registered trademark in the US and other countries, licensed exclusively through X/Open Company Ltd. All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
© 1997, The Open Group. All rights reserved.
# # #