John Dragoon’s Blog

A few hours ago Oracle announced “The same enterprise class support for Linux as for its database, middleware and application products.” Basically, Oracle announced an extension of their previously announced “Unbreakable Linux” campaign adding a “support program that provides enterprises with world-class, award winning, global support for Linux.” (primarily aimed at Red Hat Linux customers). Now I don’t know about the awards for providing Linux support, but it’s great to see that Linux is so credible and popular that another major software player is making this kind of commitment to the platform.

There have been numerous musings and rumors about Oracle’s Linux intentions for some time. Now that they have announced something, here are some thoughts from my side of the aisle.

• We agree that Linux is an enterprise class operating platform and that it deserves world class support. In fact, Novell has been providing world class support for operating system platforms for over 23 years. We provide the innovation, quality assurance and 24×7 global support for Linux that is only available direct from the manufacturer and not just for Linux server platforms but the entire spectrum of Linux operating platforms including server, desktop, thin client, real time, and point of service – all from one company.

• Novell is the company for Linux in the enterprise. Novell’s Open Platform Solutions and specifically our SUSE Linux Enterprise products are engineered for clients seeking a “desktop to data center” platform that works across mixed IT environments and is supported directly by the manufacturer on a global basis. We know this stuff better than anyone. We work with the largest IHVs and ISVs, including Oracle, to assure full compliance and certifications for their platforms. We also offer management tools for heterogeneous environments, including Linux, that no one else offers.

• Linux is more than just the server. Linux is a platform that can and is being targeted for specific workloads across enterprises, including the desktop, point of service, real time environments, integrated stacks for workgroup environments (co-developed with IBM) and more. For support for these types of broad Linux environments, Novell is the best and only place to go. We continue to innovate to expand potential Linux workloads, with work on thin clients, management, virtualization, and more.

• Oracle’s announcement is primarily targeted at Red Hat Linux servers. Red Hat and Novell have very different capabilities in the enterprise space. We have been saying for years that Novell is, in fact, the best option for enterprise deployments of Linux because of our global support capabilities, indemnification and broad partner ecosystem.

• While Red Hat customers running only Oracle on Red Hat could benefit from Oracle support, customers who run applications on Linux in addition to Oracle need broader support for their Linux environments. So do customers looking to deploy open source on the desktop or in other types of workloads. SUSE Linux Enterprise remains the best Linux distribution for such heterogeneous enterprise environments. It is fully certified and supported for a wide range of software and hardware platforms, backed by Novell’s proven, global technical support infrastructure, and indemnified. In addition, Novell provides comprehensive management and security solutions for Linux in mixed environments.

• Novell and Oracle have worked, and will continue to work, closely on Linux and open source. Oracle’s own referenced work within the Linux community was the result of Novell’s cooperative work with Oracle on OCFS2. Working together we were able to get that important shared file storage technology into the Linux kernel. Novell and Oracle are currently offering a new accelerator program on HP, Unisys, and Egenera to help customers move to SUSE Linux Enterprise in the data center on Oracle Real Applications Clusters (RAC).

• Oracle’s announcement is intended for enterprise Linux deployment. Unfortunately, Oracle’s announced support only covers RHEL3 and RHEL4 on x86 and x86-64 platforms. SUSE Linux Enterprise has a single, strong and stable enterprise-ready code base for x86, x86-64 AND Itanium, PowerPC and Z series….offering true platfrom independence and support for all enterprise needs.

• Oracle clearly states in their announcement that they are fully committed to “all of its customers that have deployed or will deploy Oracle products on other Linux distributions that are currently supported, including…Novell….”. Accordingly, SUSE Linux Enterprise customers should feel totally confident that their Oracle applications or databases will continue to run on SUSE Linux Enterprise and that their investment in SUSE Linux Enterprise as “the most stable, best supported, and most innovative enterprise Linux platform” is the right one.

Linux is indeed ready for the enterprise. It’s no longer about cost. Linux is being deployed in the enterprise because of its performance, reliability and security advantages.

Having another major technology company support this reality is good.

I say, “come on in, the water is fine”.

John

A recurring request from many people in the technical community is for Novell to open up more channels about our technological direction. The people asking this say that they want more detail about the various technologies that underpin our strategy statements and other announcements. Although we have excellent channels such as the Cool Solutions site and the Novell Support Forums, these venues typically don’t cover background on technological direction of Novell.

To be sure, providing credible technical information has become increasingly more difficult. Years of under achieving marketing messages coming from the technology industry—arguably from all industries in general—have conditioned technologists to be deeply skeptical about the majority of communication efforts by large companies. Given this, how can a technology company credibly communicate its rapidly-advancing technology and for that matter, what it allows for from a customer perspective, in a way that is reliable and trusted?

About a year ago, one of our resident technology enthusiasts proposed launching an audio podcast for IT professionals and enthusiasts. At the time, there was a lot of hype about podcasting. Various start-up companies were regularly trying to pitch us on their expertise in effective podcasting, and more than a few big corporations were mistakenly using audio-on-demand as just another vehicle for delivering the same old marketing stuff. In that climate, it seemed that perhaps someone with technical background from our own ranks might be the right way to go, and further, might be a good way to provide the kind of information that so many technologists were requesting of us – in a format and tone that matched their evolving desire to consume information in new and interesting ways.

Of course, there was some risk in the proposal. In the corporate world, new initiatives often become over elaborate and end up failing as they are over managed, over thought and over executed. So I’m pleased with what Novell management did next on the project, which was: very little at all. That is, Novell upper management allowed the project to develop on its own, giving its owners as much autonomy as possible. I’d like to claim that this benign neglect was calculated, but really it was more the serendipitous result of circumstances. Sometimes it’s best to just get out of the way.

A few months later, Novell somewhat quietly debuted the first edition of Novell Open Audio. Since that time some six months ago, the program’s following has been steadily growing as it continues to adapt and evolve. I’m happy to say that now, some forty episodes later, Novell management still gives the shows hosts—now two of them—the same autonomy and self-regulation that helped get it off the ground and establish credibility with its listeners.

The result is a technical podcast that features the views and insights of Novell’s best and brightest engineers and technical product managers. While keeping a fun and enthusiastic spirit that avoids the stuffiness that troubles so many corporate podcasts, the hosts Ted Haeger and Erin Quill take one thing with extreme seriousness: these guys work to make sure that Novell Open Audio interacts with their listening audience as much as possible. This has helped make the show a participatory dialog rather than just another outbound channel. That aligns well with the culture that we want to further develop at Novell.

Overall, Novell Open Audio now provides something that may be a bit unexpected from Novell—a different kind of conversation from the usual marketing shtick. Rather than having our first attempt at a podcast project become another top down driven initiative, Novell Open Audio provides something that is inclusive for its listening audience, and manages to provide a credible voice to the people who are driving the technical direction of Novell – you and us.

One last thing. I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Ted and Erin and my first appearance on Novell Open Audio will be on Monday, October 9. As always, I welcome your feedback and thank you for giving Novell Open Audio a try.

Happy listening.

John