IT execs see need for less complex systems

Among the ways Ameritrade Holding Corp. is looking to reduce IT complexity and costs is a decision to move Unix platforms to Linux operating systems running on Intel-based hardware - a process the company began a year ago and hopes to complete in 18 months.

A Linux system on Intel hardware is easier to maintain, said Gary Greenwald, vice president of application engineering and operations at Columbia, Md.-based Ameritrade, because if a server fails, all he has to do is replace it. With the large Unix system, engineers had to conduct tests to determine the source of the problem

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