Mandriva is launching "Academia", a new all-in-one programme to the education world, which makes possible the deployment of a site-wide IT infrastructure at low cost.

Here the press-release from Mandriva:

June 8th, 2005 - Further empowering universities, schools and research institutions seeking to build upon Linux for their IT infrastructure, Mandriva launches the Academia program, the all-in-one, single-tier solution for educational institutions.

More than a software package for the educational market, the Academia programme offers a global approach, in which organizations get everything they need to effectively run Linux site-wide, from a simplified licensing scheme, through dedicated applications, to maintenance and administration services. Academia even includes Linux training courseware, thanks to an add-on pack, for institutions wishing to take advantage of the growing demand for Linux knowledge.

Educational customers are increas
ingly investigating Linux deployment, because of the unique benefits it brings. As an open source system, Linux provides a better control over the software source code as well as being adaptable to specific needs. The architecture of the system provides better protection against viruses, together with stronger security, which is a valuable asset for networked organizations whose users may comprise young computer enthusiasts who may display some risky behaviour. Based on open standards, Linux is highly interoperable, and so is ideal for use at the heart of complex networked infrastructures, to serve as a bridge between multiple operating systems. Linux is also better able to accommodate a heterogeneous group of computers, getting the most out of both older computers and more recent configurations. With a lower total cost of ownership, Linux is the operating system of choice for all institutions seeking to benefit from better control over IT infrastructure while enjoying significant cost savings. The single license scheme of Academia further reduces the cost of running and maintaining Linux.

"Academic institutions need to deploy software site-wide, and do it for a cost as low as possible," said François Bancilhon, Mandriva's CEO. "Though several Linux educational software packages have long been available, there is no comprehensive, all-in-one deployment solution, including services and easy maintenance among current offerings. Academia brings just that."

Academia provides a special education edition of the Mandriva Linux operating sytem along with services and an ownership scheme that ease large-scale deployment of Linux. Academia is sold to educational bodies on an unlimited site license basis. Only one license is needed to be able to run Mandriva Linux on all the computers of a given site. This means that there's a single price for an unlimited number of installations. No usage report is thus needed. The education
edition of Mandriva Linux is based on the main version of the operating system and adds some specific applications for the education world. Under the Academia scheme, maintenance and administration is further simplified.

Institutions get a local FTP mirror, automatically updated with the latest versions of applications and security updates, direct from Mandriva's servers. This saves a significant amount of time for administration tasks and guarantees that the infrastrucure can be constantly kept up-to-date.

For academic institutions the software environment is also a learning environment. This is why Mandriva has designed the Academia Program Add-On pack, which provides Linux training and education. It includes free and unlimited access to Mandriva's on-line training modules, Knowledge Base, and Linux Professional Institute approved courseware. This represents a wealth of new and up-to-date material for both students and educators to draw on.

The Academia Programme is available for $2999 USD / 2499 EUR for a period of one year.

The Add-On is provided for an extra $4299 USD / 3499 EUR/year. Institutions interested in signing up can contact Mandriva at:
bispartner @ mandriva.com

More information is available here
http://www.mandriva.com/business/academia

About Mandriva

Mandriva, formerly known as Mandrakesoft, is the publisher of the popular Mandriva Linux operating system, one of the most full-featured and easy to use Linux systems. The company offers its enterprise, government educational customers a complete range of GNU/Linux and Open Source software and related services. Mandriva products are available in more than 120 countries through dedicated channels and also from Mandrivastore.com, the company's online store. Number 1 in several countries, Mandriva has won many awards for quality and technical innovation. "Born on the Internet" in late 1998, has offices in the United States, France and Brazil. Mandriva is traded on Paris Euronext Marché Libre (ISIN Code: FR0004159382/MLMAN; Reuters code: MAKE.PA) and the US OTC market (stock symbol MDKFF).

http://www.mandriva.com