Red Hat pushes Linux further into China

By Matt Whipp

Posted on 12 Nov 2004 at 14:44

The leading Linux publisher Red Hat is heading east opening its first business centre in China's Beijing.

The centre will offer Red Hat Academy training free to students and will work in partnership with Tsinghua University and Nanjing University to establish the program in China.

The company will also take its existing partners of BEA, Dell, HP, IBM, Intel and Oracle with it, as well as establishing new partnerships with Chinese companies - essential for fostering good relations with the Chinese government who decide who can and can't sell software.

Indeed, the Chinese Government plays a big role in its software market, backing Red Flag Linux. A year ago Sun forged a multi-year deal with the China Standard Software Company (CSSC) to install 'at least' 200 million copies of Sun's Linux-based Java Desktop System as part of a government-backed project to bridge the digital divide in the country.

'This is an exciting development for Red Hat Asia Pacific. The market opportunity is rich, as evidenced by the support we have received from the Chinese government and enterprise customers,' said Steve McWhirter, vice president of Red Hat Asia Pacific. Working with our partners we will bring high value, low cost solutions to China.'

The move is part of a plan first sprung in January. As well as Beijing, Red Hat also intends to open an office in Shanghai.