Technology is supposed to be about choices, but many of us stick to using Microsoft simply because it is the only product commercially available to meet our needs.
This landscape is set to change, however, because the sleeping giant Linux is finally taking a stand through the global acquisition of SUSE Linux by Novell.
Linux, a free operating system available for download on the Internet, has been slowly but surely eroding the world server market share.
With its roots in the older, now less attractive Unix technology, Linux has the reputation of being stable, reliable and secure. Until now, however, the biggest criticism of Linux has been the lack of commercially available support for the software as well as the technology growth curve it had to go through to bring itself to an accessible level for the man on the street.
With Novell’s acquisition of SUSE — an international vendor and distributor of products in the Linux space — comes a whole set of solutions.
Novell South Africa’s MD Stafford Masie says: “Novell’s acquisition of SUSE is a sign of the larger IT industry’s support for the operating system as well as our faith and confidence in the product.
“Linux vendors have always had a bit of an identity crisis. They give their software away for free, but charge for the associated services — but the only way to truly service a market is through collaboration.”
Novell says it will not change the inner model of SUSE nor will it rebrand the technology. Instead Novell is set to take the best of both the SUSE desktop and server operating systems and make these even more commercially available.
“What this acquisition really means is that Linux software and services now have a global footprint, it has a global support infrastructure and services arm with a company that has built itself around the power of quality technology.
“Novell is already offering Linux certification and we are already supporting companies locally using the operating system,” adds Masie.
Charlene Carroll edits Domain.