IBM is taking another shot at blowing Microsoft off the desktop and this time it's got the foul economic winds at its back.

In the name of cost cutting, IBM is proposing that companies virtualize their desktops and turn them into thin clients using Virtual Bridges' Virtual Enterprise Remote Desktop Environment (VERDE), replacing Windows and Office with Canonical's desktop Ubuntu Linux and IBM's own Open Collaboration Client Solution software (OCCS).

OCCS is a collection of IBM Lotus Symphony, IBM Lotus Notes 8 and Lotus applications. Symphony of course is built on the Microsoft-opposing Open Document Format (ODF).

The solution, which would reportedly cost somewhere between $59 and $289 a user depending on software and service level, runs open standards-based e-mail, calendaring, word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, unified communication, social networking, team collaboration and portals to any laptop, browser or mobile device from a virtual desktop login on a Linux-based server.

IBM has been trying all year to loosen Microsoft's death-like grip on the desktop and says this latest recipe is now a key component of its financial services front office transformation offering as well as part of its public sector industry solution framework.

In a statement encapsulating its argument, Inna Kuznetsova, director of IBM's Linux strategy, said, "When we look back several years from now, I think we'll see this time as an inflection point when the economic climate pushed the virtual Linux desktop from theory to practice. The financial pressures on organizations are staggering and the management of PCs is unwieldy. Today's virtual desktop is delivering superior collaborative software, an innovative delivery method and an open source operating system that is demanding clients' consideration."

IBM estimates that its virtual desktop will save companies:

• $500-$800 per user on software licenses for Microsoft Office, Windows and all related products
• Around $258 per user in hardware upgrades since there's no need to upgrade hardware to support Vista and Office 2007
• $40-$145 per user in reduced power consumption
• $20-$73 per user in reduced air conditioning
• 90% of deskside PC support
• 75% of security/user administration
• 50% of help desk services such as password resets
• 50% in software installations, which are replaced by software publishing.

Companies will of course have to factor in the cost of retraining, and it raises real issues of compatibility, but it smacks of a 50% cut in TCO in dire times. The widgetry also provides mobile access from any network-connected device anywhere and is fundamentally more secure.

Anyway IBM says users can access their Linux desktop sessions from not only endpoints running Linux, but Windows and Mac as well, "which," it allows, "is critical as users seek standard application environments across heterogeneous physical desktops."

The solution includes a seamless remote printing capability so there's no need to maintain drivers.

IBM describes VERDE as the "first true" Linux-only (host, guest and client) virtual desktop infrastructure solution.

It offers an integrated connection broker, KVM-based VM technology, multimedia and sound support, local printing support, and other features typical found only in Windows-based solutions, IBM says.

It's supposed to surpass Windows-based VDI systems with lower cost-of-ownership, ease-of-use, security, flexibility as well as easier deployment and ongoing management.

Standard pricing for a 1,000-user VERDE deployment is $49 per user.