No Slowdown For Linux
Frank Basanta, director of technology at Systems Solutions, a New York-based Novell SUSE Linux solution provider, said his Linux sales were up 100 percent in the fourth quarter and have tripled since the summer. "The Linux momentum is a tsunami," he said.
Novell's $210 million acquisition of SUSE is expanding the open-source operating system's acceptance, solution providers said. "We're starting to invest a lot more now that Novell has made the move," said Randy Bender, president and senior consultant at eNvision Data Solutions, a West Chester, Pa.-based Novell solution provider. Bender said 25 percent of his service revenue in the fourth quarter was Linux-related, up from only a small percentage in the year-ago quarter.
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SUSE CEO Richard Seibt says 2004 looks rosy for his company's key partners.
SUSE CEO Richard Seibt said his company's premium partners posted 200 percent revenue growth in 2003 and the "pipeline for 2004 is even more promising."
The Linux legal controversy, meanwhile, continued to swirl last week with news that SCO Group is suing Novell for an alleged "bad faith effort to interfere with SCO's rights with respect to Unix and UnixWare." The suit came a week after Novell indemnified qualifying Linux users from legal claims and damages that may result from SCO's legal actions. Novell rival Red Hat also got into the act by launching an Open Source Assurance Program designed to offer some protection for customers if SCO sues them for copyright infringement.
Robert Kusche, general manager of DSG Linux Services, a Bellingham, Wash., IBM partner, said the legal battle isn't slowing Linux's adoption. He said he has only seen one customer adopt a "go slow approach" amid SCO's legal moves. "We haven't seen any fear, uncertainty or doubt," he said.
Solution providers said Novell may be benefiting from some frustration in the channel regarding Red Hat. Tim Shea, co-owner of Alpha NetSolutions, Worcester, Mass., said Red Hat has been a "difficult partner." Shea is stepping up his commitment to SUSE Linux now that Novell has acquired it.
Marten Mickos, CEO of MySQL, Menlo Park, Calif., said it's too soon to predict how things will shake out on the Linux front. "Whatever company has a big win on the Linux desktop will have its own place in the sun."
BARBARA DARROW contributed to this story.