Siemens Computer Systems says its BS2000/OSD has become the first mainframe OS to receive internet server branding from the openGroup. A company spokesperson said that the open branding should give customers the confidence to migrate from Siemens’ Fujitsu-supplied CMOS mainframe platforms, to its own MIPs-based Risc platforms and to Intel IA-64 platforms once they become available later this year. The move should ensure some extra shelf life for BS2000 environments, which are mostly limited to the operations of a few hundred large German customers, but Siemens is also hopeful that the MIPS and IA-64 escape routes might even encourage a little growth among the 3,000 BS2000 licenses currently in the market.
