Novell's Linux Server Takes 30% Of Server Market
Novell's Linux Server Takes 30% Of Server Market
August 11th, 2006: Novell bullish about the take up of SUSE Linux Enterprise 10, claiming a 30-40% market share in the global server market. Australia and New Zealand show the biggest uptake, globally, of the downloadable operating system.
IDM spoke with Markus Rex, General Manager of Novell's SUSE LINUX Business Unit, and Applied Technology Strategist, Paul Kangro this morning regarding the success or otherwise of the SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 - which was released into the wild on July 17th. The company, whose long-standing Netware product has been losing out in recent years, is placing a great deal of resources on the success or failure of its Linux offering.
According to Kangro, "In the server space we have 30-40%, globally, and this is slightly more in Australia and New Zealand. In fact, since people have been able to download the software, Australia and New Zealand leads the world in downloads." Rex, who is based in Germany, expressed the fact that, "This comes as a surprise to people based outside the region".
One of the main reasons for this take-up of a non-Microsoft server system, in the mind of Novell, is security. In a direct attack on Windows, Kangro told IDM, "With the new system, we've got over issues regarding management and security. We have world class security which, unless it is completely re-written, Windows will never achieve".
Obviously, with Microsoft Vista desktop operating system, and development of the Longhorn server OS, some would say that the market leader is completely re-writing Windows. Kangro's response is ascerbic, "Well, Longhorn is getting very short, with so much being taken out of it".
Both men were keen to address perceptions of potential security holes in an Open Source-based operating system. With both the desktop and server OSs available for use, the fact that the core code is available for public view is seen by many as a troublesome.
Rex stepped up first, "You gain security by people looking into your code. It is reassuring to be able to look at all levels and not just the pretty front end."
Kangro was more vehement, "SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 is EAL4+ under the Common Criteria, which is the same as Windows (2000)." The Common Criteria is also known as ISO/IEC 15408 - the International Organization (sic) for Standardization (sic) standard for computer security. EAL (Evaluation Assurance Level) provides seven levels of validation testing achieved, with Level 1 being the lowest and Level 7 the highest. Level 4 does, however, mean that government agencies are allowed to implement systems.
Ratings, which don't reflect actual security robustness as much as they do levels of testing aside, Kangro picked up the Open Source equals Open Code issue, "Let's face it, it's hard to hide back-doors from 1.2 million developers."
The installed base for the software does not simply derive from the few weeks in which Enterprise 10 has been available, of course. It builds on the previous push SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The major change in the new release, and the one most likely to impact the management of documents and records across the Enterprise, is the inclusion of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, which its incorporation of Open Office and the Open Document Format (ODF).
Scorn has been heaped on the notion of organisations ripping and replacing installed Microsoft Office systems for Linux at the desktop. While the actual initial capital expenditure layout would be less, retraining of a staff and a lack of compatibility with Microsoft-based documents are often raised as key reasons for not switching.
Once again, Novell's Kangro has an answer, "People were also saying that there would not be a Linux Enterprise server OS, but look at it now. Previously the wrong thing about Linux desktop was Linux Desktop - a desktop designed by geeks. We changed this because our business users needed some familiarity with 'the other' desktop. We've 'ungeeked' it."
Finally, the big question of switching to an entirely new Office productivity suite has to be faced by any offering that seeks to break the dominant Microsoft hegemony. Kangro's line begins with the fact that, despite an ongoing soap opera in the United States - and Massachusetts specifically - regarding Open Office and its Open Document Format (ODF), "ODF has now been approved by ISO". In fact, ISO gave ODF a standard number in May of this year - ISO 26300.
Novell, as a major contributor to Open Office, is also eager to clarify that the issue with MS Office compatibility in the area of macros has also been resolved. Figures for the take-up of the desktop environment are not yet available.
Novell obviously has a huge battle on its hands if it seriously seeks to overturn to existing status quo at the desktop - but the fact that key to this is a document format that is finding wider acceptance from professionals globally can aid this fight.