By Brian Proffitt
Managing Editor
As the open source community settles in to figuring out the pros
and cons of yesterday’s acquisition announcement from Novell, two
commercial entities have already stepped up to add their
endorsements of the planned buy of SUSE Linux AG.
Computer Associates weighed in by mid-afternoon, with a brief
statement attributed to Sam Greenblatt, Sr. VP and Chief Architect
of CA’s Linux Technology Group: “CA feels this move is excellent
for the industry and supports the two distribution environment. The
excellent global support that Novell brings to the open source
community will help continue market adoption of Linux from the
desktop to the server. CA fully supports Novell/SUSE in their
integration efforts and looks forward to working with them to
continue CA solution support for SUSE Linux.”
Not one to be left out, HP also but forth their own release
concerning the move by Novell. This statement was unattributed, and
was submitted by an HP representative to Linux Today’s sister site,
LinuxPR.
“HP noted with interest the announcement that Novell signed an
agreement to acquire SUSE Linux,” the statement read. “As the
worldwide market leader in Linux from the desktop to the
datacenter, HP is at the forefront of delivering Real World Linux
for enterprise, SMB and technical computing customers and welcomes
any additional focus that can enable customers to achieve the best
return on IT.
“Novell’s decision is another proof point of the importance of
Linux to the enterprise computing market and reinforces HP’s
long-time position that a robust multi-OS strategy–Unix, Windows,
and Linux–is the approach that will deliver the best value for
enterprise customers.
“HP has a close partner relationship with Novell, having long
enjoyed worldwide market leadership for both NetWare and Linux
servers. HP also has a large user base of customers that have
implemented SUSE Linux on HP platforms. We look forward to working
closely with Novell, as well as other market-leading Linux
distributors, in support of our real world Linux strategy to
deliver open, cost-effective and comprehensive Linux solutions to
customers in support of their business goals.” Curiously, HP also
felt compelled to mention their stance on indemnification
concerning alleged IP violations surrounding Linux.
“The only major Linux vendor to offer customers indemnification
against potential litigation from the SCO lawsuit, HP is pleased to
extend this protection to qualified customers running Novell (or
SUSE) Linux on HP hardware with an appropriate services
contract.”