NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - IBM and Red Hat have expanded their partnership to include joint development and marketing of a wide range of Linux offerings.

IBM is among several top-tier technology companies that has embraced Linux, an open-source operating system that started with a cult following but has been rapidly gaining traction in the mainstream of corporate computing.

The company has had a business relationship with Red Hat, the leading commercial supplier of Linux, for several years. But the cooperation between the two companies was more or less limited to IBM supporting Red Hat Linux as part of its own portfolio of products and services.

Under a multiyear alliance the two companies will announce Monday, IBM's Global Services arm will now collaborate with Red Hat in the same manner it works with traditional industry vendors.

"In the past, we've had a narrow relationship related to support," said IBM Linux services executive Peter Nielsen. "This really broadens it to an alliance from a services perspective that allows customers to deploy Red Hat Linux with real confidence."

The alliance addresses three key areas for Linux users: services, servers support and software collaboration, Nielsen said.

Under the terms of their agreement, the financial terms of which were not disclosed, IBM's Global Services unit will provide Linux support in combination with Red Hat product development as well as expanded support of Red Hat Linux on IBM servers.

The two companies also will jointly develop and market Red Hat Linux offerings.

"It is a real working together relationship with a project office where we share leads and jointly approach customers with solutions," Nielsen said.

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In the services area, IBM Global Services will package Red Hat products and complement them with joint service and support offerings, the companies said. Red Hat and IBM Global Services also will collaborate and package each other's consulting and service offerings.

The deal expands the two companies' server support relationship with Red Hat now supporting its Advanced Server software on IBM's mid-range zSeries, iSeries and pSeries servers. The company already offers support for that product on IBM's low-end, Intel-based xSeries servers.

At the same time, IBM will begin making its key software products available for Red Hat Linux, starting with Intel processor-based servers such as its xSeries this year, and expanding to additional server hardware in 2003. The programs include: WebSphere, used for building and deploying Web Services; DB2, Tivoli, and Lotus.

"This announcement and global alignment with all major IBM business units moves Linux into the enterprise mainstream," Mike Evans, Red Hat's vice president of business development, said in a statement.

"Support from the world's largest system integrator for its enterprise platform confirms the leading global position that Red Hat has built in the Linux market," Evans said.

Earlier this year, IBM announced a very similar alliance with Germany's SuSE Linux of Germany, the leading European Linux distributor.

Shares of Red Hat (RHAT: Research, Estimates) fell 1.1 percent to $5.25 on Nasdaq Friday. The company's stock has fallen more than 44 percent over the past year from a high of $9.50 in January.

IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) shares, which have come down more than 42 percent from their 12-month high of $126.39 in January, rose 63 cents in New York Stock Exchange trade Friday, ending the session at $72.50.