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Novell's SUSE acquisition marks 'turning point' in Linux uptake

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 14 Nov 2003 at 15:30

Forrester Research has published new research on the implications of Novell's purchase of SUSE, concluding that 'when the high-tech history of this decade is written, this acquisition will mark a turning point in Linux adoption'.

The analysis follows Forrester researchers sitting down with the top men from Novell and IBM (which made a $50mn buy of Novell convertible shares at the time) who would undoubtedly have offered a rosy picture. Nonetheless, Forrester concludes the acquisition will prove vital for Novell in its strategy to migrate its current NetWare customer base to Linux, losing as few to Microsoft as possible.

SUSE stands to benefit from the move, using Novell's brand, support and reach to catapult it onto the global stage and compete squarely with Red Hat. At the time of the acquisition, Jack Messman, CEO at Novell, said: 'We can now become the number one Linux company.'

He said Novell would bring its direct sales force to bear on SUSE's products although he expected the channel to provide the real demand. More importantly for Red Hat on Novell, SUSE would become the 'preferred' distro for its products, with Red Hat only being certified 'for a period of time'.

On the desktop front, Forrester gives Microsoft Windows the crown for the corporate desktop. But the Linux desktop is gaining momentum. SUSE has had a corporate desktop offering for some months now, and Sun's latest product portfolio includes the SUSE-based Java desktop.

Forrester thinks that where Novell can really make inroads in the desktop arena is in the governmental and public sector space. It says that Novell 'now provides the strongest portfolio of open source desktop tools and management infrastructure'.

Our own government is currently running open-source pilots, initially with IBM and with 'additional savings' for Linux-based products. The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) found that Microsoft's licences were becoming increasingly hard to swallow. Spokesperson Martin Day said that while 'Microsoft is big in Government,' the money saved on moving to Open Source software could be put to very good use. 'If the Department of Health can make a five per cent gain through Open Source, that could mean a new hospital.'

Nobody at the OGC would comment on whether Novell's acquisition made SUSE any more or less an attractive proposition.