eSoft Moves Linux Into Southeast Asia

eSoft, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESFT) has added to the momentum of the open-source software market in the Asia-Pacific region by signing a distribution agreement with Singapore-based IT Resources Pte Ltd.

The deal will bring eSoft's TEAM line of Linux-based Internet appliances to value added resellers (VARs) in India and Singapore.

"We have a commitment to provide our customers with market-leading Internet and networking products and believe the TEAM Internet product family is an ideal fit for our product offerings," commented Bobby Sim, IT Resources managing director. "With the recent movement toward Linux in the IT world, we see TEAM Internet as a great opportunity to introduce a powerful, affordable, Linux-based Internet appliance to the marketplace."

TEAM Internet is designed to serve as the standard Internet gateway for small-to medium-sized businesses, providing Internet connectivity and e-mail capabilities. To bolster the current strategic product-driven deal, eSoft has appointed Ronald Lee as the new director of sales for Asia/Pacific.

Lee was tapped because of his experience in a regional market that has seen recent Linux-related moves by companies such as Fujitsu and Red Hat.

About IT Resources Pte Ltd

IT Resources is a distributor of IT brands such as Samsung and Sony, offering a portfolio of service and customer strategies. "Our distributor agreement enables them to offer their customers the Linux-based Internet solutions they are looking for, while complementing eSoft's long-term goal to gain global acceptance and expanding the TEAM Internet product line throughout the Asia Pacific," stated Jeff Finn, president and CEO of eSoft.

About eSoft

Broomfield, Colorado-based eSoft develops Internet appliance solutions for small-to medium-sized businesses based on the Red Hat Linux distribution. The company's TEAM products are designed for businesses with up to 200 workstations, providing LAN-to-Internet connectivity and features such as firewall security, remote access and virtual private networks (VPNs).

The Penguin Internationalization Initiative

In other Linux-related news, Nuremberg, Germany-based SuSE GmbH announced this week that it has become a charter member and sponsor of the Linux Internationalization Initiative (Li18nux). The recently-established Li18nux -- through the efforts of a working group of volunteers -- will focus upon "software/application portability and interoperability issues in the international context," said a group statement.

"SuSE as part of this group will help to create a localized and internationalized Linux OS (operating system) from a single code base," said Markus Rex, SuSE director of development. "We are very glad that we can help the open-source community with our efforts to reach this goal."

The Linux vendor recently expanded operations into eastern Europe, opening offices in Prague. "Conditions are extremely favorable," observed Roland Dyroff, SuSE's executive director. "The IT market in the Czech Republic, as well as in other parts of eastern Europe, is in a state of dynamic development and offers young and flexible companies, above all, optimal opportunities for rapid growth."

SuSE is a software vendor that recently introduced version 6.2 of its Linux OS distribution, which includes StarOffice 5.1, Sendmail 8.9.3, the Apache Web server, KDE 1.1.1 and GNOME 1.0 desktop environments and kernel 2.2.10.