SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware – and our alliance with VMware inked in September 2010 – continues to offer vSphere customers a proven enterprise Linux distribution for their virtualized environments. This is yet another proof point of SUSE’s commitment to deliver the best products, services and solutions to our customers.  According to a statement from Nils Brauckmann, President and General Manager of SUSE in a May 2011 press release:

"By operating SUSE as a separate business unit focused on the Linux marketplace, we can accelerate our delivery of high-value Linux solutions that help organizations enhance growth, reduce costs, tame complexity and spur innovation. We have the world-class engineering resources, partners and state-of-the-art technologies to succeed. Now we are sharpening our focus on making SUSE Linux Enterprise the preeminent Linux distribution across physical, virtual and cloud environments."

If you’re attending VMworld this week, stop by booth #747 to learn if you qualify to:

• Get SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware vSphere
• Receive patches and updates to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware at no cost
• Run unlimited number of virtual machines per qualified vSphere host

In addition, vSphere customers can streamline their support experience by receiving technical support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware directly from VMware.

For more information, check out VMware's announcement and download the Getting Started Guide.

In two conference presentations, Novell experts detailed how cloud-enabling technologies like the SUSE Appliance Program, Novell Cloud Security Service and Novell Cloud Manager are helping enterprise organizations solve the complexities of cloud computing by helping them better understand and leverage the intelligent workload management market.

Novell appliance architect, Skip Paul’s presentation, “Virtual Appliances: Simplifying Application Deployment and Accelerating Your Journey to the Cloud,” discussed how software appliances can dramatically simplify application deployment, thus accelerating an organization’s shift to cloud computing. Paul also pointed out how the strategic partnership between Novell and VMware is delivering innovative appliance versions of VMware products running on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. The session ended with recommendations to software vendors to simplify delivery of software, perform appliance lifecycle management and extend applications to the cloud. End-user organizations were encouraged to reduce the time spent creating and updating core OS images by 90 percent or more. His presentation can be found here on SlideShare.

Novell’s Richard Whitehead, director of intelligent workload management, and Ben Goodman, principal strategist, teamed up for a presentation titled “IDC says, ‘Don’t Move to the Cloud,” citing that IDC recommends organizations don’t just “move” to the cloud, but “embrace” it. Without a proper identity strategy, Whitehead and Goodman say taking advantage of cloud computing is pointless. The duo discussed how Novell’s unique identity-centric approach – whereby organization’s infuse the capabilities identity management offers into their entire IT ecosystem – is central to what Novell calls “WorkloadIQ,” our differentiated approach to tackling the complexities of the intelligent workload management market, which helps organizations ensure their cloud environments are manageable, secure and compliant. Their presentation is found here on SlideShare.

VMworld features various sessions during the week-long event, often holding presentations, panels, interviews and demonstrations. David Vallante, Co-Founder of The Wikibom Project, conducted the interview with Joe Wagner on Wednesday, Sept. 1, at 1:00 PM. Wagner answered questions such as:

- What news do you have to share from VMworld?
- Why did Novell and VMware make this agreement?
- What value will VMware customers get from this?
- How can one get more information about this new partnership offering?

Novell and VMware have a long-standing relationship in further developing infrastructure technology. Their recent agreement enables VMware to distribute and support the SUSE® Linux Enterprise Server operating system. Under the agreement, VMware intends to standardize its virtual appliance-based product offerings on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. You may read the release here: http://www.novell.com/news/press/vmware-and-novell-deliver-suse-linux-enterprise-server-for-vmware

Joe Wagner serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of Global Alliances at Novell. He is responsible for driving strategic objectives and establishing major partnership ecosystems on which to build market relevance and growth businesses at Novell. This encompasses building strategic global partnerships with leading technology companies including VMware.

Novell is an infrastructure software company that is leading the intelligent workload management market with its differentiated approach, WorkloadIQ. Novell helps organizations securely deliver and manage computing services across physical, virtual and cloud computing environments with its solutions for identity and security, systems management, collaboration and Linux based operating platforms.

Viewers may watch the interview and follow up on other VMworld events through VMware’s Social Media and Blogger Lounge, found at http://www.vmworld.com/blogs/vmworld/2010/08/28/social-media-blogger-lounge-with-live-video-coverage.

As part of this landmark agreement, customers can deploy SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware® in VMware vSphere™ virtual machines and will be entitled to receive a subscription that includes patches and updates at no additional cost. In addition, VMware and its extensive network of solution and channel partners will market and sell customers the option to purchase technical support for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server delivered directly by VMware for a seamless support experience.

VMware and Novell have both invested in delivering solutions as software or virtual appliances, providing customers a pre-configured package of OS plus application that is easier to deploy, maintain and manage. Several VMware products are already distributed and deployed as virtual appliances. Standardizing virtual appliance-based VMware products on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware will further simplify the deployment and ongoing management of these solutions, shortening the path to ROI.

This is a significant agreement for the Linux, virtualization, and cloud computing markets. Gartner research indicates that at the end of 2009, 18 percent of enterprise data center workloads had been virtualized, but the number is expected to grow dramatically to more than 50 percent by the close of 2012. VMware is the clear market leader in virtualization solutions, and this agreement is a tremendous opportunity for Novell's Linux business. To support customers moving to a cloud infrastructure, both companies also intend to provide the ability to port SUSE Linux-based workloads across clouds. Such portability will deliver choice and flexibility for VMware vSphere customers and is a significant step forward in delivering the benefits of seamless cloud computing.

This strategic partnership gives VMware and Novell customers a simplified and lower-cost way to virtualize and manage their IT environments, from the data center to the cloud. It gives our partners exciting new solutions with which to modernize their customers' IT environments and deliver significant ROI. This agreement is a strong validation of Novell's strategy to lead in the emerging intelligent workload management market and our goal for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server to be the most portable operating system foundation across the broadest heterogenous physical, virtual and cloud environments.

I say this is a 'late' introduction because I've been in the new job for all of three weeks. It's been a whirlwind, with a string of great news beginning with our 2Q results, the announcement of some exciting work with partners like VMWare and MSI, and then late last week the release of openSUSE 11.0. I've worked at early-stage start-ups as well as industry giants, but Novell is easily the most energetic company I'm come across. Never a dull moment – I'll be posting more soon.