TheDeal.com: Few winners among Linux companies

Aug 13, 2001, 16:30 (9 Talkback[s])
(Other stories by Tyson Freeman)

A lengthy overview of the Linux biz, with quotes from TurboLinux's new CEO and an analyst who say Red Hat and Caldera are the future, while others will likely "just struggle along":

"There are just not a lot of pure Linux companies with products that people want," said Bill Claybrook, a Linux software analyst with Boston-based Aberdeen Group Inc. "And many of these companies have very poor business models. Even in a good market, they weren't doing that well."

But Ly-Huong Pham, the recently appointed CEO of Brisbane, Calif.-based Turbolinux Inc., contends that the primary issue facing the Linux industry is no different than that afflicting any emerging technology.

"The hype over Linux is over, and this is the year where we have to do some business," Pham said. "When PCs entered the market, the PC companies had to go up against the mainframe; everyone was wondering how they would make money and survive. It is not a question of the technology, it is a matter of finding the right business model."

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• VA Linux leaves the hardware field(Jun 28, 2001)
• The Register: SCO channel chill bodes ill for Caldera (Apr 27, 2001)
• LinuxToday.com.au: Interview with IBM's Linux Business Strategist(Mar 12, 2001)
• Canada Computes: Linux: Business Unusual Part 2 (Feb 18, 2001)
• ZDNet: Searching for a supermodel - for Linux business(Feb 14, 2001)
• UPDATED: The Register: We haven't gone titsup.com says SuSE's Wiegand; IBM iSeries & zSeries work completed(Feb 10, 2001)
• ZDNetUK: Caldera on proprietary trail [with Volution management tool](Jan 21, 2001)