IBM announced plans to deliver Informix Dynamic Server (IDS) support for Mac OS X Leopard.

Through this collaboration, the planned IDS 11 “Cheetah 2″ release will be available for Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard. The first beta version is available for download.

IDS 11 will provide online transaction processing (OLTP) data serving capabilities for the Mac platform – adding to existing support of Linux, Unix and Windows. IDS 11 will offer the high performance, low operating cost, scalability and data availability that have been the hallmark of IDS and the user experience Mac customers have come to expect. IDS provides continuous availability and disaster recovery, including support for multiple secondary servers – delivering 99.999% availability.

“Blazing-fast Intel processors and the stability and security of Mac OS X are just some of the many compelling reasons businesses are switching to the Mac,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. “We’re thrilled that IBM is joining the growing number of Mac enterprise application developers by bringing its powerful enterprise-class IDS database to the Mac.”

“Our higher education customers have been well served by our partnership with IBM throughout the years and they appreciate the reliability and low cost delivered by IBM Informix Dynamic Server, in combination with the Jenzabar Total Campus Management solution,” Ben Bassett, VP, Software and Services, Jenzabar. “Jenzabar continues to be encouraged by the strong commitment IBM has made to IDS, as demonstrated by this extension of IDS support to the Mac platforms. IDS on Mac OS X will provide a robust database and development environment for the higher education market.”