Novell joins OSDL

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 10 Dec 2003 at 11:08

Novell has strengthened its commitment to the GNU/Linux operating system with membership to the Open Source Development Labs.

Novell's vice president Jeffrey T Hawkins will also join the OSDL board as a director.

Chris Stone, Novell vice chairman, said: 'By joining forces with OSDL, Novell aims to take a leadership role in helping the industry overcome the many challenges that still exist to help Linux fulfill its promise as an end-to-end enterprise computing platform.'

Stuart Cohen, CEO at OSDL said: 'We expect Novell to be a significant contributor to virtually all of our industry initiatives, as well as to the overall mission of the Lab.'

The company, which is in the process of acquiring Linux vendor SUSE, says it will be an active participant in initiatives to optimise the operating system for use in the data center - no surprise given its corporate focus.

However, it will also feature in the OSDL's desktop Linux pursuits, for which SUSE has developed a range of products. This should help allay any fears that the acquisition will dent development of SUSE's desktop systems.