Linux market changes will prompt revision of that option, managers say

When the two leading sources of Linux distributions made sweeping changes in their business plans, HP 3000 managers reported they would be watching to see how the value in the 3000 alternative might change. Red Hat announced it’s pulling out of the low-cost Linux distribution business, while SUSE Linux got purchased by Novell. Red Hat wants to move customers by Dec. 31 who use the 7.x and 8.x distributions of Linux — an environment being considered by 3000 shops as an alternative — to Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

“Personally, I don’t much like it,” said Donna Garverick, a Linux user, systems manager at Long’s Drug and long-time chair of HP special interest groups. “I don’t like losing my free OS/PC. But from a corporate perspective, you ought to be paying for the computers, operating systems and software you use. They are business tools that come at a cost. Right now, Red Hat is still cheaper to run than, say, HP-UX. If comparing Red Hat Linux to HP-UX is an oranges-to-tangerines comparison, then ‘cheaper to run’ is a significant factor. Of course, that cheaper-to-run advantage may change real fast if Oracle and the like change their licensing set-ups for Red Hat Linux clients.” Garverick said the reset of the Linux costs might be the best news for any companies which are betting on a long future for Unix. “This move may actually save HP-UX and some of the other proprietary Unixes,” Garverick said. “I’ve maintained for a long, long time that HP-UX couldn’t compete in a marketplace where something like Linux is being given away. It’s simple economics.”

Independent consultant and 3000 NewsWire columnist John Burke said the moves serve as notice that Linux will become a more mainstream option. “The two moves are a recognition by the industry that Linux is about to be ready for prime time,” he said. “It appears that almost all the heavyweights are lining up against SCO (the notable exception being Microsoft, of course). I suspect SCO’s strategy [of filing a lawsuit against IBM] was a bet-the-company move to force IBM into acquiring SCO. Why else would it not target the two largest Linux companies, Red Hat and SUSE? Because they have no money. Novell acquiring SUSE (and hence direct and indirect support from IBM) better positions it to join (and perhaps lead) the forces against SCO.”

RedHat’s move should help give the environment more legitimacy. “Red Hat came up with its Enterprise Linux strategy to rid itself of the hobbies/geek image, so it decided to cut loose the red box software and concentrate on the big corporate market. I suspect Novell intends to become the one-stop shop for Linux software, from large corporate clusters to the desktop.”