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HP and Novell Expand Relationship to Offer Linux From Desktop to Datacenter
Author: Novell Press | Thursday March 25, 2004
- HP and Novell deliver customer choice through multi-OS strategy. PALO ALTO, Calif. and SALT LAKE CITY (BrainShare ® 2004), March 24, 2004 - HP and
Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) today announced a joint agreement to certify and support the
Novell® SUSE® LINUX operating system on select HP Compaq client systems.
Today's
announcement expands HP's multi-OS strategy across servers and PCs, offering
customers unprecedented choice to run alternative applications with global support,
training and consulting from HP.
The agreement builds upon HP's existing certification of Novell SUSE LINUX across
HP's industry-standard HP ProLiant and HP Integrity servers, storage, software and
services. In 2003, HP was the worldwide leader in revenue and unit shipments for x86
and Itanium Linux servers. According to IDC, HP was the market leader in unit
shipments in Q4 2003 for both x86 and Itanium Linux servers, with 27% and 42% share,
respectively.(1)
"HP is now the first major technology vendor to offer enterprise customers a single,
proven Linux solution from desktop to datacenter," said Martin Fink, vice president
of Linux, HP. "Our relationship with Novell is based on a joint commitment to
innovation, low-cost platforms, and total customer experience. HP was first to
market with Linux-based servers, first to provide a Linux indemnity program for
qualified customers, first to reach 2.5 billion in revenue - and the first major
technology vendor to certify and support a single, complete, open standards Linux
environment."(2)
As part of the joint agreement, Novell SUSE LINUX will become HP's standard Linux
distribution across its portfolio of business desktop and notebook PCs in North
America, with Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific countries at a
later date. HP and Novell will also offer product support for Linux-based business
PCs and, with certain support contracts, HP will provide qualified customers
indemnity against possible litigation from SCO. (2)
"Novell and HP share a rich tradition of innovation and support for the enterprise,"
said Chris Stone, vice chairman, office of the CEO, Novell. "Novell is working hard
to reduce barriers to enterprise adoption of Linux, delivering the security,
scalability and reliability for which Novell is historically known, to Linux
environments - including the desktop. HP's decision to standardize on SUSE LINUX
reflects growing industry support for Novell's open platform strategy."
Starting from a modest position in the overall market, IDC's forecast for paid Linux
client operating system new license shipments call for a 2002-2007 compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 25.4%.
"We expect Linux client growth to be led by emerging markets in Asia-Pacific, Latin
America and Central Europe," says Al Gillen, research director, System Software at
IDC. "Adoption will be less broad in well-established markets due to momentum of the
installed base for both operating systems and the applications that are installed
aboard those environments. We see an opportunity for Linux client systems, and the
package that HP and Novell plan to offer could be an attractive option for users
considering a Linux client solution."
HP delivers end-to-end Linux solutions, including servers, storage, software and
services on industry-standard platforms. Over the past three years, HP has
introduced Linux options for select client systems for business in certain regions
and for specific markets and currently sells more than100,000 Linux-based
workstations and business desktop PCs per quarter. The company's business notebook,
desktop PC, and workstation lineup meets the gamut of business requirements from
basic , everyday computing, to more advanced needs for increased power and features
for more demanding tasks.
Novell's SUSE LINUX is one of the leading commercial Linux distributions worldwide,
delivering a powerful option for customers seeking the flexibility, security, and
cost savings of Linux, whether at the server or desktop level.
About HP
HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions
globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and
access devices, global services and imaging and printing. For the last four fiscal
quarters, HP revenue totaled $74.7 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq:
HPQ) is available at www.hp.com.
About Novell
Novell, Inc. is a leading provider of information solutions that deliver secure
identity management (Novell Nsure*), Web application development (Novell exteNd*)
and cross-platform networking services (Novell Nterprise*), all supported by
strategic consulting and professional services (Novell NgageSM). Active in the open
source community with its Ximian® and SUSE® LINUX brands, Novell provides a full
range of Linux products and services for the enterprise, from the desktop to the
server. Novell's vision of one Net - a world without information boundaries - helps
customers realize the value of their information securely and economically. For more
information, call Novell's Customer Response Center at (888) 321-4CRC (4272) or
visit http://www.novell.com. Press should visit http://www.novell.com/pressroom.
(1) Source: IDC Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker, Q4 2003
(2) The Linux indemnity program requires customers to sign an indemnity agreement
that outlines the covered claims, rights and responsibilities of HP and customer.
For more details please visit www.hp.com/linux HP reserves the right to modify or
cancel the indemnity program at any time.
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks,
uncertainties and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical
fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Risks,
uncertainties and assumptions include the possibility that the market for the sale
of certain products and services may not develop as expected; that development and
performance of these products and services may not proceed as planned; and other
risks that are described from time to time in HP's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
the period ended Jan 31, 2004 and HP's other Securities and Exchange Commission
reports filed after HP's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
October 31, 2003. If any of these risks or uncertainties materializes or any of
these assumptions proves incorrect, HP's results could differ materially from HP's
expectations in these statements. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to
update these forward-looking statements.
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