[ossig] Novell: Linux's move to the enterprise desktop imminent

[Nan Phin <nplee@xxxxxxxxx>]

Novell: Linux's move to the enterprise desktop
imminent 
By Winston Chai, CNETAsia
Monday, March 1 2004 6:04 PM 


SINGAPORE--Linux could start to chip away at
Microsoft's stronghold on the enterprise desktop
within the next 12 months, says a senior executive
from Novell. 

To date, Linux's successes among Asian businesses has
been largely confined to the server end. With the
exception of some government-led initiatives,
particularly those undertaken by Chinese and Thai
authorities, the open-source operating system (OS) has
not made significant inroads into the corporate
desktop market. 

However, David Lenz, director of sales and marketing
for Novell Asia-Pacific, is bullish the tide could
turn this year. 

"In 12 months' time, you'll see some enterprise
customers start to run Linux on their desktops. I
don't see it as a watershed where everybody's running
Linux desktops but you'll start to see the emergence
of some examples of companies that have embraced Linux
and are going down that path," he said. 

Lenz added he does not expect businesses in the region
to embark on a wholesale shift away from Microsoft in
the short-term, but said they will start with small
pilot projects to evaluate the feasibility of Linux as
a desktop OS before considering broader adoption. 

As testament to this trend, he said Novell is already
working on Linux desktop trials with one customer in
Hong Kong and another in Malaysia, but declined to
provide further details. 

Industry experts CNETAsia spoke to echoed Lenz's view.
Gartner Asia-Pacific's research director Phil Sargeant
said organizations, particularly those in Australia,
have witnessed a surge of interest in Linux desktop
offerings. 

"A lot of organizations we've spoken to are looking at
it as a proof-of-concept, a test to see what they can
or cannot do," said Sargeant. However, he stressed
Linux will not completely replace Microsoft Windows on
the enterprise desktop, but the two rival offerings
will in fact co-exist to cater to different users
within a company. 

"There is a portion of users in organizations who
probably need only basic functionality--single task
stuff. Companies are looking at those sorts of users
to adopt a Linux alternative," Sargeant said. 

Novell, which recently completed its US$210 million
acquisition of SuSE Linux, has been actively
evangelizing its new offerings in the region. The
company last month launched a slew of SuSe software
packages and training programs in Asia-Pacific. These
include offerings like Enterprise Server 8, Standard
Server 8, Openexchange Server and the SuSe Linux
Desktop. Lenz added the company also plans to release
a Linux version of its Netware OS later this year. 

However, Novell is not alone in its push. Traditional
Linux sellers like Red Hat and China's Red Flag too
have been ramping up their offerings, with Sun
Microsystems joining the fold late last year with the
launch of its SuSe-based Java desktop OS in Asia. Most
recently, Paris-based MandrakeSoft partnered with
TechWorx Solutions, a regional Linux solutions
provider, to extend its products and certification
courses into the region.


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