Novell readies Indian language versions of Suse Linux

Novell is introducing Indian language versions of its Suse Linux distribution, according to an executive of the company.

The introduction of Suse Linux in Indian languages is one of a number of initiatives planned by Novell to gain ground in India's Linux market, where the Linux distribution from Red Hat of Raleigh, North Carolina, is ahead.

Red Hat is ahead in India in terms of market share and visibility, according to Kapil Dev Singh, country manager of research firm IDC (India), in Gurgaon near Delhi. "Novell has not as yet created visibility and an ecosystem of partners and developers comparable to that of Red Hat," Singh said.

In the first phase, Suse Linux will be available in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali, and Gujarati languages, said Rhonda O'Donnell, Novell's president for Asia Pacific. The company did not however disclose when these new versions of its Linux distribution would be available.

"We are committed to making sure that Suse Linux Enterprise Server and Suse Linux Professional are enabled for all the critical Indian languages," said J. Veeraraaghavan, managing director of Novell Software Development (I), Novell's software development subsidiary in Bangalore.

Offering products in the local language helps software vendors target India's government market which primarily uses local language computing. Red Hat is already offering support for some Indian languages on its products. Microsoft of Redmond, Washington, has also introduced Indian language versions of its Windows operating system and Office suite.

Novell of Waltham, Massachusetts, announced Thursday that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the stake held by its partner in its Mumbai-based sales and distribution joint venture, Onward Novell Software (India). Novell has operated the 50:50 joint venture with a local Indian partner, Onward Network Technologies, since 1992.

Novell expects to close the transaction by the end of its fiscal year. After the acquisition, Novell will have a more focused approach on the Indian market, O'Donnell said.

The company's software development center in Bangalore and a global support center in Mumbai are key resources for building up the market for Suse Linux in India, O'Donnell said. The company has identified India and China as the two key growth markets for the company, she added.

The development center, which was set up in 1994, has 325 staff, and works on a number of Novell's products including Linux desktop components. It also has about 100 graduate students working on Suse Linux and other open source technologies from Novell under the Novell Open Source Internship Program, Veeraraaghavan said. The support center in Mumbai, which was set up last year to primarily address North American customers, will now be supporting other regions as well.