Having claimed it was going to limit the number of different operating systems it would port to, our sister publication Computer Business Review hears that Dutch Enterprise Resource Planning software house Baan Co NV will announce in two weeks time that it will be putting its software up on none other than Silicon Graphics Inc’s Irix flavor of Unix. Baan was reluctant to discuss the news in advance of the announcement, but it seems Silicon Graphics, which is obviously looking to find new niches for its servers now that its high-end graphics systems are being seriously challenged by cheaper commodity systems, made the approach. Silicon Graphics’ enterprise business development manager Paul Nerger admitted it might appear an unusual move. When we first suggested it they [Baan]laughed in our face, but when they saw how our platforms could back up 1 terrabyte of data and our provision of web-based workflow, they changed their mind. As well as the SGI port, Baan’s first in five years, it is also set to announce some five more software ports.
