Linux now #1 Unix version at Lyris

• February 12, 1998

Linux Downloads at Lyris now #1 Unix Download

Berkeley, CA - 7 November 2001 - Lyris Technologies, Inc., developer of email messaging and filtering software, announced today that downloads of its applications for Linux have surpassed all other Unix-based versions combined. Lyris' core products include ListManager for opt-in email newsletters, and MailShield for server-based protection against unsolicited email.

Since January 2001, Linux versions of Lyris software have grown from 40% to more than 60% of the company's Unix downloads, the balance of which are spread between FreeBSD and two types of Solaris.

"The increasing demand for our software on Linux is a real testament to the power of Linux, which we use extensively in our own ListHosting service business, moving away from Solaris," said Lyris CEO John Buckman. "As we discovered in our research written up in Sys Admin, Linux offers the highest performance for mail delivery." Buckman's reference is to an article he co-authored in the June 2001 issue of Sys Admin Magazine, "Which OS is fastest for advanced network applications?".

Lyris customers using Linux have also achieved significant business results. UK-based Chinwag, an email and CRM consulting firm, takes advantage of Lyris ListManager's ability to handle custom programming extensions.

"We strive to create the best possible experience for email list members," said Sam Michel, CEO of Chinwag. "And we do that with Linux, which allows us to integrate custom Java and Perl applications with Lyris ListManager." Chinwag also runs a successful list hosting business on Linux that delivers nearly six million email messages per month. Since converting from Majordomo to ListManager, Michel has seen an 80% decrease in administrative workload.

Lyris anticipates an even greater demand for Linux in the future. "Sun-Oracle has long been the enterprise solution, but we've had far more calls for Linux this year," commented Buckman. "Because of that market shift, we've decided to offer ListManager for Linux-Oracle." Release of the Oracle version is scheduled for December 2001. Lyris is also evaluating a version for Postgres, given a growing interest in open-source databases.