TRYING TO ACCELERATE the adoption of Linux in enterprise accounts, Red Hat on Tuesday announced its Red Hat Enterprise Edition product line as part of a strategy that will see the company working hand in glove with leading application developers to test and integrate Linux-based solutions.

   ADVERTISEMENT
  

Free IT resource

Open Source Business Conference (OSBC) May 22-23, 2007

Sponsored by OSBC

Free IT resource

TechNet: More ways to know it, share it, and keep it running.

Sponsored by Microsoft

RELATED LINKS
»  Canonical chases deals to ship Ubuntu Server preinstalled
»  Sun delivers first UltraSparc T2-based servers
»  IT trainer offers master's degree for hackers
»  Platforms RSS feed 

IDG ENTERPRISE NETWORK
• More Operating Systems News...  (ComputerWorld)
• CrossOver Office aims to ease a switch to Linux  (ComputerWorld)

TOP NEWS 


IT SOLUTION SEARCH
As part of the new initiative the company announced the Red Hat Linux Enterprise Editions for Oracle 8i database, Computer Associates' systems and storage management products, and RealNetwork's streaming video line.

The company said that future versions of the Enterprise Edition will target other key enterprise application areas including directory services, messaging, and ERP (enterprise resource planning), although officials declined to say when those versions would be available.

"This is a new line of products that will include new enterprise-level functionality created in concert with our partners. Fundamentally it is the same source code as our core product, but we are creating multiple versions," said Paul McNamara, product marketing manager at Red Hat. "We are trying to bring those functions that appeal to enterprise users and make [them] available as open source," McNamara said.

As part of the collaborative effort with its application partners, Red Hat not only will test and help integrate tailored solutions in an IT shop but will work with them to optimally configure those solutions to achieve the best performance and reliability, McNamara said.

The Enterprise Edition for Oracle 8i will be available sometime in March with the version for Computer Associates' products coming by the end of April, according to a company spokesperson.

"Our studies show that Linux is new to most IT managers, but they are open to using those possible solutions. But while they are interested in open source they have concerns about things like applications, tools, middleware, and support. I think this [Enterprise Edition] product line can reduce some of those concerns," said Dan Kusnetzky, program director of operating environments and serverware at International Data Corp., a market researcher based in Framingham, Mass.

Individual pricing on the various versions of Red Hat Enterprise Editions will depend on what application, service, and support packages users choose.

Red Hat Inc., in Research Triangle Park, N.C., is at www.redhat.com.