30 minute interview

“Linux is ready to run large mission-critical apps”

David Bebko, Marketing Director, Asia-Pacific, Novell, on his company's new launches and strategies.

Along with the launch of SUSE Linux 10 you have also come up with a new branding strategy. Could you tell us about it and also about what do you mean by ‘Linux is ready’?

When we say Linux is ready, we mean that from our side we are ready to present it in the market with all features and functions. Above this is SUSE Linux 10 Desktop which clearly shows that Linux is ready for desktop users.

On the server side we have seen the evolution of Linux in edge-computing like Web servers and non-mission-critical applications. Today, Linux is ready to run large mission-critical applications. There are instances of large financial institutions using Linux servers today to do just that. Prior versions were best suited for specific applications that use fixed functions such as ATMs, and transactional workstations, and the motion picture industry. Now it’s maturing even more.

We see huge potential in APAC, especially in the government segment. We have seen the government being very proactive on open source- Linux. I feel India will whole-heartedly welcome open source.

How is virtualisation achieved through the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server?

At business level virtualisation plays a significant role in maximising the power of the individual computer. Traditionally, enterprises run single applications on a single server. And when they do an audit, they find that many of those servers are not utilised fully. Sometimes just 10 percent of it is utilised. Virtualisation helps maximise utilisation of all hardware. It allows separating the software (even the OS) from the hardware and thus optimises the investment that is made in hardware. It does not allow any business disruption. For example, if one server goes down, without interrupting the business, another server will pick up the application.

How do you plan to promote your new products? Who are your partners?

We work closely with OEMs as well as ISVs. We have 5,500 partners globally that include all of the leading hardware and software vendors. For example, when you create a document in open office, you can choose it to save as a PDF file and that’s a credit to our working with Adobe to be able to package that in the box so that the user does not have to download Acrobat Reader. The same is with Real Player. We work closely with the open source as well as proprietary software vendors. In India we have at least 120 partners apart from the leading OEMs. Some of the partners are SCG, VHP-Infotech, Precision, and Raksha Tech.

Linux is not as popular at the desktop level as at the server level. What is Novell doing to bridge this gap?

The launch of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop will change this. Many customers are using older versions of SUSE Linux and they are excited about Enterprise Desktop 10. There is a section of customers that appreciates Linux and we will continue to watch how this segment of the market evolves. Most technologies take a path of going from the enterprise to the end-customer, except for a few such as instant messaging. We believe that moving from the enterprise to the consumer is the right path for us.

— Megha Banduni