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Industry welcomes Novell's purchase of SuSE

Stephen Shankland CNET News.com

Published: 06 Nov 2003 12:50 GMT

Computing industry stalwarts such as Hewlett-Packard, Oracle and even Microsoft welcomed Novell's planned acquisition of SuSE Linux, saying the move will mean a financially stronger business partner for their own wares.

Novell, which has struggled for years to recover from Microsoft's victory in the server operating system market, announced on Tuesday the $210m (£125m) plan to acquire SuSE Linux, which is the second-ranked seller of the open-source operating system. The move would mate Novell's higher-level server software with SuSE's operating system foundation, the companies said.

The acquisition plan generated some angst among Linux enthusiasts who fear Linux companies are leaving behind hobbyists and home users, but corporate computing powers generally welcomed the move.

"Customers went through this period where they were willing to buy from start-ups, but that fad has run its course. Now customers are looking to buy from viable, long-term, stable players," said Martin Fink, vice president of Linux HP's Linux operation. With Novell's acquisition of SuSE, "what changes is the financial wherewithal behind the company, the global presence and support that's behind it as well."

HP sells servers that come with Linux from SuSE and its rival, No. 1 Red Hat. In addition, it has a long relationship with Novell.

SuSE Linux will become a more compelling product for server companies to sell with the addition of Novell's software stack -- seasoned products for email, file storage, print services, Web site hosting, for example -- said Gartner analyst John Enck. Novell also could help SuSE expand geographically out of its European stronghold," he added.

"I think SuSE is going to be looked at as a more favourable candidate" for partnership, Enck said.

Indeed, Oracle, the database giant that's betting heavily on Linux, agreed. "Novell's acquisition of SuSE Linux will strengthen SuSE Linux," leading to wider use of the software, the company said in a statement.