Commerce to buy Linux through purchase agreement

The Commerce Department has awarded a blanket purchase agreement to DLT Solutions for Red Hat software and services. Commerce personnel will be able to buy Red Hat Enterprise Linux and other products and services through the BPA, with DLT serving as the reseller.

The agreement expires May 31, 2008, and it has an $8 million ceiling.

Commerce has used Linux since the mid-1990s and has benefited from the community-supported version since its adoption, said Rita Casazza, chairwoman of the department's Consolidated Infrastructure Team and liaison between the team and the chief information officer.

"Establishing this agreement will help [Commerce] leverage economies of scale for Linux across all the bureaus," she said. "We're optimistic about the benefits of using Red Hat to reduce costs and increase efficiency."

Under the agreement, all 15 agencies within the department can use the BPA. Commerce agencies include the Census Bureau, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.