NEW DELHI: Software major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is planning to set up a centre of excellence Linux Laboratory in its Delhi facility where it will showcase Linux-installed machines to demonstrate the capability of open source software.

IBM and Computer Associates are already on board for the lab and it will be operational in July this year, Gautam Shroff, head, architecture and technology practice, TCS, said while adding the company is in talks with other companies as well.

The laboratory will have Linux installed on a number of non-high-end machines but of reasonable calibre that has everything required to run an IT organisation in terms of management software, the middleware and desktops end-to-end, he said.

TCS will be investing in the lab in terms of manpower, the partners will be investing in deploying the software.

There will be no dedicated team for the lab but there will be one such team of management and TCS will rotate its people through the lab and at any point of time 10 people will be working in the lab, Shroff said.

The lab itself does not have a revenue target and the goal of the lab is to provide a set-up where we can bring in our customers to show the extent to which open source could be pushed, he said.

The lab will also have TCS's own solutions that it has built for government and the banking sector and has IPRS for them besides demonstrating customers those projects on open source, Shroff added.

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Posted by N.S. Soundara Rajan, Freelance IT Correspondent, Mysore, India