09.11.09
Posted in GNU/Linux, Kernel, Microsoft, Novell, Ron Hovsepian, Steve Ballmer, Virtualization at 6:12 am by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Novell discovers what it’s like to work with a ‘partner’ like Microsoft now that Novell employees are left to make Microsoft hooks work
Microsoft not only violated the GPL before releasing some kernel hooks for Microsoft’s proprietary software [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8] (Microsoft sent out Ramji to spin it, but he's quitting the company now); it is also showing total lack of interest, if not just the expected indifference. Their semi-ally from Novell, Greg Kroah-Hartman, is now complaining publicly and Microsoft blogs are seeing this.
Greg Kroah-Hartman, a Novell fellow with SuSE Labs and Linux Driver Project lead, posted on September 9 a status update on the drivers being assembled for inclusion in the Linux 2.6.32 kernel, Kroah-Hartman had some harsh words about Microsoft’s participation since its original announcement of its GPL plans in late July.
This is already in Slashdot and in SD Times.
Microsoft’s developers were missing in action after the company donated GPL-licensed drivers to the Linux kernel community in July, leaving significant work to the Linux community, according to Linux driver project lead and Novell fellow Greg Kroah-Hartman.
“Leaving significant work to the Linux community,” eh? Surely this “Linux community” (translation: Novell engineers) is anxious to get its hands on this code and make it working to increase sales of Microsoft products (Hyper-V), then put GNU/Linux under Windows, just as Ron Hovsepian agreed with Steve Ballmer and publicly confessed in early 2007. █
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08.10.09
Posted in FOSS, GNU/Linux, Google, Marketing, Microsoft, Novell, Red Hat, Ron Hovsepian at 3:26 am by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Microsoft’s anti-Google AstroTurf recalled; Google’s brand value leaps; Microsoft approval drops
MICROSOFT’S robbery of Yahoo! [1, 2] has probably erased a lot of history relating to this saga, which lasted a year and a half.
A lot of people probably cannot remember that Microsoft hired AstroTurf groups such as LawMedia to battle against the Google/Yahoo! deal [1, 2]. In the case of LawMedia, the effect is said to have been Hispanic groups flooding channels of communication with messages that protest against the Google/Yahoo! deal. It is pseudo-grassroots, or classic AstroTurf.
“A lot of people probably cannot remember that Microsoft hired AstroTurf groups such as LawMedia to battle against the Google/Yahoo! deal.”Now that we come across the spontaneous press release “Hispanic Publishers Have High Hopes for Yahoo!-Microsoft Search Advertising Partnership” it is hard not to think about the LawMedia lobby. Why issue a promotional message like that?
Microsoft is very much afraid of Google, which — just like Free software — challenges the underlying business model of Microsoft by taking software on-line, as opposed to setting it free. Google and Microsoft, both of which are proprietary software companies, are still competing to own the medical data of US citizens and be in charge of other companies. Neither is really acceptable (either Fog Computing or non-Free software), but Google has narrower history of breaking the law, which it never did at quite the same scale as Microsoft.
According to some new numbers, Google’s brand value now significantly exceeds that of Microsoft.
Millward Brown Optimor has just published its list of its 100 most valuable global brands for 2009. Guess who topped the list?
You shouldn’t have to if you’re reading this blog. But yes, Google rings the bell at No. 1 with a $100 billion valuation, a 16 percent increase from a year ago. Microsoft came in second at $76.2 billion, an 8 percent jump from 2008.
These are not scientific surveys, but to some people they may be rough estimates to go by. Watch how Barcelona’s football club wishes to be dissociated from Microsoft, apparently.
FC Barcelona avoids the very appearance of endorsing Microsoft products
[...]
Last time I checked two years ago, during a trip to the Camp Nou (when Openbravo CEO Manel Sarasa got me into the president’s box), FC Barcelona was running OpenCMS for its Web site and a range of other open-source software for content management and other needs.
Perhaps FC Barcelona would have happily done a photo op with the Linux penguin, but just couldn’t bear to affiliate with Clippy?
Speaking of Europe, where Microsoft’s popularity is generally a lot lower, there are still articles which are hostile towards regulation there, such as this new one from Reuters. The language says it all really. I spoke to the Ombudsman just under an hour ago (on the phone). Over in the United States, Motley Fool/MSNBC, which are heavily influenced by Microsoft, show that Steve Ballmer’s approval rating is extremely low.
Investors: Steve Ballmer’s a Failure
Roughly 40% of respondents to a “Wall Street Journal” poll aren’t pleased.
Ron Hovsepian’s approval rating is also exceptionally low. Novell and Microsoft are in a bad shape, whereas Google and Red Hat, for instance, keep growing. █
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07.16.09
Posted in GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Novell, Ron Hovsepian, VMware, Virtualization, Windows, Xen at 4:11 am by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Bits from the press about Novell and virtualisation for the most part
MANY people may not remember this, but Ron Hovsepian admitted giving power to Microsoft in the datacentres. It was part of the deal that Novell should permit Windows to run as a host and SUSE usually be a guest. Novell was the feeble party in this relationship and by signing that notorious patent deal, Novell sort of passed its inferiority onto other GNU/Linux distributors.
Moreover, it cannot be stressed strongly enough that Citrix bought XenSource only to advance Windows for the most part. Here is a new article from The Register:
Citrix Systems and Microsoft are co-mingling some of their virtual desktop technologies. But Redmond stopped short of endorsing the XenClient bare-metal PC hypervisor that chip maker Intel and Citrix are working on for delivery later this year.
Also new from The Register is an article about FastScales:
Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is not yet supported, and neither are other hypervisors, such as XenServer from Citrix Systems or Hyper-V from Microsoft, and this could be a problem. FastScale said back in April – when VMware launched its ESX Server 4.0 hypervisor and its related vSphere 4.0 tools – that it would support these by the end of the year.
Here is the Boston press about Novell:
Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, a Kirkland, Wash., firm that specializes in tracking Microsoft, said that by creating a rival operating system, Google is leading with its chin.
“I don’t see why Google has to get into this business,’’ Rosoff said. “It seems like they’re waving a red flag directly at Microsoft’s core business.’’
Microsoft has crushed a host of erstwhile technology titans that posed similar head-on threats – browser maker Netscape and networking software company Novell Inc., for example, he said.
Matt Rosoff would be biased because of his professional focus and location (Kirkland, just like Gates), so by “crushed” he probably means broke the law to put competitors out of business and thus obtain a monopoly, then pay fines for the crimes and benefit from the outcome of the crime (financially) over the years. The article above is noteworthy because of another new article (from Alibaba) about VMware and Microsoft. Microsoft executives are pretty much running VMware right now. The article states:
But Maritz knew how to play hardball: He made decisions that helped vanquish past Microsoft rivals, including Lotus, Novell and Netscape.
“Play hardball” or break the law? How the press attempts to soften the seriousness of crimes over time. We see it constantly, even days ago. As Comes vs Microsoft exhibits show, Paul Maritz participated even in vandalism. There are many more examples, some of which are yet to come. █
“We are going to cut off their air supply.”
–Paul Maritz, former Microsoft Vice President, referring to Netscape
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06.06.09
Posted in Finance, GNU/Linux, Novell, Ron Hovsepian, SLES/SLED, SUN, Videos, Xandros at 9:46 am by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Another relatively quiet week for SUSE, so new articles that merely mention SUSE are searched for and presented instead
SUSE Financial Results
THE STREET, a publication mostly known for its pro-Big Business slant, has written about Novell’s results, casting them as “Threat to Microsoft”. Here is a portion from the article.
“Our Linux and Identity businesses have the greatest potential to continue to expand operating margins,” CEO Ron Hovsepian said in a statement, “and we plan to attain profitability within these businesses no later than 12-18 months from today, barring unforeseen circumstances.”
Novell carries very heavy baggage from the past, so its SUSE business (franchise) does not grow quickly enough [1, 2, 3].
Read the rest of this entry »
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05.29.09
Posted in Finance, Novell, Ron Hovsepian, SLES/SLED, Servers at 12:17 pm by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Novell’s revenue is down, expenses are down, and more cutbacks are said to be needed
A MORE comprehensive analysis will come tomorrow, but here are some quick findings about Novell’s latest results, which obviously it is trying to spin (all companies do).
This morning’s article from Timothy is probably the best so far as the author is typically isolated from marketing bias and mindless flocking which cascades down from press release that are selective by design.
For its quarter ended April 30, Novell sales fell by 8.5 per cent to $215.6m. But because it has been tightening the belt and it had a pretty bad corresponding quarter last fiscal year, bringing $15m to the bottom line looked good by contrast. Nonetheless, Novell has a ways to go before it is as profitable as it needs to be or investors want it to be, and as it turns out, key product lines are not profitable.
[...]
Novell booked $7m in restructuring charges in the quarter, and its headcount was the same as it was at the end of the last quarter, with 3,900 employees. Russell said that in a normal fiscal year, the second half usually sees a revenue bump, but he warned that sales could stay flat quarter to quarter (as they did so far in fiscal 2009), and that means Novell is going to be under pressure to cut costs to keep in the black.
From Seeking Alpha:
# Novell (NOVL) Q2 EPS of 5 cents misses by 1 cent. Q2 revenue $216M vs. consensus of $218M.
More here:
Software service provider Novell Inc. (NOVL) said its second quarter profit jumped from a year ago as expenses declined, despite an 8.5% fall in revenues reflecting a huge drop in software licenses and services revenue. On an adjusted basis, earnings came in above Street estimates, while revenues fell short.
Novell’s SLE* business is still growing, but it is not growing fast enough to keep Novell afloat in its current scale.
The software provider achieved revenue of $216m (£134m), down from $236m in the same period last year. Net income was up to $16m from $6m in 2008.
Well, they laid people off and cut expenses associated with luxuries like BrainShare. It’s worth noting that the whole of Novell’s income combined is about twice that of Ron Hovsepian's bonus for 2008. And that’s just one person’s bonus, to put things in perspective. There is no recession for the CEO’s household/family.
According to this, “Novell, Inc. closed yesterday up 1.37% on over 6.7 million shares traded.” But today it goes down sharply, unlike the market as a whole. Novell (NOVL) fell as low as $2.5 some months ago. To quote:
Novell, Inc (NOVL) in the last one year traded as high as $7.10 in May 2008 and as low as $2.49 in March 2009. Based on the yesterday’s closing price $4.43 the company has market cap of $1.53 billion.
NOVL is still considered a stock to watch today.
Friday’s biggest gaining and declining stocks
Companies whose shares are expected to see active U.S. trading on Friday include General Motors, Dell, Novell and Office Depot.
A new report about NOVL (SADIF Analytics) says that “Novell, Inc. is an average quality company with a positive outlook. Novell, Inc. has weak business growth and is run by efficient management. When compared to its closest peer, MICROS Systems, Inc., Novell, Inc. shows similar overvaluation and is equally likely to outperform the market.”
Well, Sun was acquired and it amasses huge losses. This comparison does not work in Novell’s favour. █
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05.06.09
Posted in Dell, Finance, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Novell, Ron Hovsepian at 3:20 pm by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Novell senior cannot deny Microsoft takeover, but she thinks it is unlikely. What about Dell?
MORE rumours about Red Hat longing to be bought by Oracle are still circulating, but this has been heard for quite some time and nothing ever happened. In fact, Red Hat talks about hiring more people because its sales are increasing as an independent company. But meanwhile, there are also a couple of new Novell interviews that are worth attention. The first is with Novell’s Heystee, who is working very closely with Microsoft. These are marketing people. Asked about the possibility that Microsoft would acquire Novell, she replied frankly:
Heystee does not expect Microsoft to make a bid for Novell.
“You can never say never, but it’s certainly not something that I would see,["] she told iTnews.
Let us assume that Microsoft may never buy Novell. But how about one of Microsoft’s close allies? How about Dell for example? Dell is supporting Novell's SLE and it also joined the Microsoft/Novell deal just under 2 years ago. It was never made clear what it means exactly (in practical terms). A respected writer from CRN is now putting out there the possibility that Dell, a hardware company for the most part, may buy Novell.
Novell Novell’s market cap right now stands at about $1.3 billion. Dell could offer double that, in cash, and walk off with an interesting partner channel and a very strategic Linux distribution business. Dell rival HP has shown signs of building some nice offerings using Novell’s SUSE Linux; this would throw a cute little monkey wrench into that.
That would be a bizarre deal which might not interact quite so well with IBM and also have Dell inherit the WordPerfect lawsuit against Microsoft, not to mention UNIX.
Looking at Novell, it’s in bad shape, financially speaking at the very least. Its last quarterly report was exceptionally poor and the only good news was that the CEO received a massive bonus. Ron Hovsepian has actually just spoken to NECN, but it’s a video. Here is the summary (one among at least two).
Every week on CEO Corner we go one on one with New England’s top CEO’s to learn the secrets to their success. This week Maryanne Kane is joined by Ron Hovsepian, CEO of Novell.
In this segment, Hovsepian talks about why the company chose to move from Utah to Massachusetts. Hovsepian talks about his priorities as the company moves forward during the recession. He’s expecting many exciting inventions down the road.
Here is another advertised analysis of Novell (NOVL) and here is the preparation for Novell’s next report, which should not be terribly impressive. Novell has not struck a single major SUSE contract since its last report back in January.
Unless Novell can pull some major deal, it won’t be pleasant. But Novell is probably preparing its report already, so it’s inevitably grim. Those layoffs which Novell’s CFO recently hinted at might just come into effect, just like those over at Novell's partner. Novell’s expenses massively outweigh the revenue, i.e. it still operates at a significant loss without foreseeable prospects of reversal. █
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03.26.09
Posted in Deception, Finance, GNU/Linux, Novell, Red Hat, Ron Hovsepian, Windows at 10:38 am by Roy Schestowitz
Summary: Novell’s CEO has some regrets about the Microsoft deal while Microsoft discredits Free software to promote Windows
TWO YEARS ago, Novell’s CEO Ron Hovsepian admitted that he had had tiny regrets about the Microsoft deal. Now that he delivers a keynote at OSBC 2009 he is said to have expressed more regrets or issued a “semi-apology over the Microsoft pact.”
Speaking at the Open Source Business Conference (OSBC), Hovsepian said he could have done a “better job” of communicating about the deal and suggested he got caught up in thinking about customers, instead of the perception and possible fallout from dealing with Microsoft.
[...]
“I know the deal we did with Microsoft caused a lot of noise and flack in the market,” Hovsepian told OSBC on Tuesday. “And I wish I’d done a better job of communicating that. But the thing that caught in my head was the customer.
This shows Hovsepian’s inability to understand why undermining the GPL with Microsoft is a bad idea. The problem was not communication about the deal. It was the deal itself. No amount of spin (“communication”) can turn treasonous behaviour into something acceptable. Novell did try to police coverage by contacting journalists and prominent developers ahead of its enhancement of the Microsoft partnership in 2008.
An important point which the article above misses is that while Hovsepian claims that “at the end of the day we have to listen to the customer,” it was weasels like Susan Hauser who did surveys with customers for Microsoft’s benefit. These people still hijack the voices even of Novell customers. Microsoft basically told Novell what Novell customers supposedly wanted (software patents and all that), but to what degree was it true?
Our valued reader, Jose_X, explains why Novell makes GNU/Linux an “unnecessary layer”, or “middleware” (he actually says “middleman”):
In Microsoft’s world of tomorrow, there is this thing that will serve as an added unnecessary “middleman” layer called Linux. You will need Windows still because of all of its lock-in (secrets that will fizzle away when Novell has served their purpose). Novell pushes all technology (except for “Linux”.. that’s the embrace) that benefits Microsoft and gives Microsoft maximum opportunities tomorrow.
Novell: helping Microsoft embrace the FOSS world smartly and helping to put Linux into a position where it will simply get in the way tomorrow.
More comments can be found here and in The Register.
Going back to the article from The Register, it is worth adding that such articles arrive from Microsoft-centric writers like Gavin Clarke who attends OSBC on the publication’s behalf, but then again, OSBC 2009 is heavily influenced by Microsoft because Microsoft paid it a lot of money, as it did last year as well [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The conference is in fact organised by IDG/IDC [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] where a Microsoft tie does exist.
“The conference is in fact organised by IDG/IDC where a Microsoft tie does exist.”As has always been the case, with subtle use of language and British humour the pro-Microsoft Gavin Clarke is doing what he can to make it seem like Free software is losing, so caution is needed when reading OSBC coverage from The Register. To share some of the latest from Gavin Clarke, here is Microsoft apologism and promotion from OSBC, as well as a trollish headline like “Hey, Red Hat – Open-source help still lousy?” with the subheadline ‘”Zealots” wanted’. What has happened to The Register ever since that deal it signed with Microsoft? The GNU/Linux-oriented writers all seem to have left except Timothy who joined.
IDG is not better off by the way. Paul Krill took remarks from Red Hat’s CEO slightly out of context* to issue a headline suggesting that GNU/Linux will never make it on the desktop. The anti-GNU/Linux crowd is using his article to spread such a message further (e.g. The Inquirer). It’s provocative. Also, regarding IDG, check out the main banner/headline: “IBM, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems Among Speakers on Tap for InfoWorld OSBC 2009 in San Francisco.” Despite Novell’s keynote, neither Novell nor Red Hat make the official opening press release. But Microsoft is prominently there… on an “open source” conference that it conceived and funds.
Microsoft pretty much said that it had received a spot to speak "as part of this sponsorship." And what talk did it deliver? What was the message? That companies don’t migrate to “open source” at this time. Yes, they stay with Microsoft. That’s the message Microsoft tells the attendees of this conference which those people paid to attend and this is how Microsoft can crash or hijack events, according to its very own notes that court proceedings exposed.
The deceiving message from Microsoft is being echoed by Mary Jo Foley though it contradicts everything that we find elsewhere in the press nowadays. Novell is then presented by Paul Krill almost as though it echoes Microsoft’s views.
Microsoft, Novell ponder opportunities in sour economy
In separate discussions at InfoWorld’s Open Source Business Conference (OSBC) on Tuesday, executives from Microsoft and Novell cited opportunities presented by the current down economy.
They sure seem like a pair, don’t they? Two years ago it was pretty much the same when Microsoft and Novell stood shoulder-to-shoulder and made attendees rather uncomfortable.
So, Novell is sending out the message that business is not too good. Isn’t it funny that Red Hat’s business is still going up significantly (revenue up about 20% as per yesterday’s results)? And isn’t it funny that OSBC steals the thunder from Red Hat’s good news, which would bode well for GNU/Linux in a down economy? Brian Proffitt specifically complained about this throughout OSBC 2008 when he was still the managing editor of LinuxToday. OSBC 2008 overshadowed Red Hat’s good results because of Smith’s patent FUD.
Maybe Novell’s choice to share a fate with Microsoft has proven to be a poor one. Not so with Red Hat. It’s interesting, isn’t it?
“Two years ago it was pretty much the same when Microsoft and Novell stood shoulder-to-shoulder and made attendees rather uncomfortable.”Meanwhile, Microsoft's 'open' charade continues. It’s as deceiving as intended. According to Matthew Aslett of the 451 Group, Microsoft is again using the “choice” meme to substitute “free”, “open”, or “fair”. It did the same thing with OOXML, particularly in Malaysia [1, 2, 3].
Todd Bishop put it well when he said that the message Microsoft is trying to convey and pass on is: “Bad economy a boon for Linux? Not really.”
This, in turn, would drive GNU/Linux people out of OSBC and let Microsoft inherit more control of an important scene for media exposure. That is part of their plan. The same thing happens in other events where Microsoft throws in some cash, the latest example being Cloud Computing Conference.
Matt Asay, who is a major part of OSBC, wrote about Novell’s keynote. Novell’s Justin Steinman turns out to be spreading some new Red Hat FUD, and not for the first time either.
Steinman’s response? Interoperability. Steinman notes that while Red Hat has announced its own interoperability deal with Microsoft, it’s fairly light. Novell, for its part, has done work with Microsoft to ensure that Microsoft technologies such as ActiveDirectory and System Center work alongside Linux deployments.
Sam is parroting some of this over at OStatic where he also talks about that IDC 'study' which Novell paid for this time around. It means very little in practice, but it’s a marketing routine that’s effective and drapes the pockets of professional liars.
Outside of OSBC, the Microsoft ecosystem does its usual thing, pushing Microsoft PR into Slashdot (it’s being gamed by Microsoft marketing people, as confirmed to me personally by someone who used to manage it). The not-so-news is about Microsoft trying to grab portions of Free software that are typically tied to LAMP stacks. Microsoft wants everything to run on Windows and this is covered in quite a few places like Linux Magazine, JupiterMedia (Sean Michael Kerner), ZDNet, eWeek, and IDG.
Microsoft is in the process of building out a marketplace for open-source applications that could work like an equivalent to an app store for applications, services and support for open-source technology that runs on the Windows platform. At MIX09, Microsoft released several components of the Microsoft Web Platform, an integrated set of tools, servers and frameworks that work seamlessly together and interoperate with popular open-source applications and products that are used in the community. Microsoft is looking at Windows Azure as a potential distribution platform for these applications.
Website builders who choose to run on Microsoft’s Web platform but also want to use open-source software are in for a pleasant surprise. Microsoft Web Platform Installer 2.0 installs PHP, the popular website scripting language, and includes a collection of popular open-source Web applications. For some, the inclusion of PHP is a shock, because the free scripting language competes with Microsoft’s ASP.NET for use in developing websites. ASP.NET is popular among enterprise developers, but Web 2.0 startups and homebrew sites are often built atop PHP.
Let’s recall the role of SpikeSource in this anti-GNU/Linux strategy [1, 2] It’s not enough to just woo Free software developers away from GNU/Linux; Microsoft is also trying to scare them using lawsuits against Linux. It is a sort of aggressive strategy whose core is suing GNU/Linux while calling developers to escape and find shelter in Windows, so Microsoft is behaving a bit like a thug, a pirate.
One of our informants from India has also shown us how Microsoft uses MSPs in India and 'compensates' them for spreading Microsoft lock-in around the country, thereby battling Free alternatives. There are new photos too.
Ain’t Microsoft just so adorable? █
“Gates’ gimmick of becoming a philantropist repeats the Rockefeller scam almost one to one a century later.”
–Dark cloud over good works of Gates Foundation
___
* Because, as Mark Shuttleworth agrees, the concern when it comes to the desktop was profitability, not userbase.
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03.11.09
Posted in FOSS, GNU/Linux, Microsoft, Novell, Ron Hovsepian, Steve Ballmer, TomTom at 6:41 pm by Roy Schestowitz
Proprietary software company opens ‘open source’
conference, which is organised by IDC|IDG
Summary: How a company that’s suing Linux with help from Novell’s endorsement still harms OSBC
OSBC 2008 WAS kick-started with a keynote from Microsoft’s chief lawyer, who was talking about how or why Microsoft might (or might not) sue open source software. That was a year before Microsoft started suing and Pamela Jones warned attendants/attendees that they should treat Microsoft as though it was already suing (because — as she put it — she believed Microsoft would).
“This year, the crowd will be hearing not from an open source CEO.”Perceptually, in the eyes of many, OSBC ended up like a farce [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. For instance, instead of focusing on Red Hat’s fantastic results at the time, the press only concentrated on Microsoft and its software patents because Microsoft managed to derail OSBC and change the subject of discussion so as to arouse fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
This year is not so different (not even for OSCON [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]). People who organise OSBC — and Matt Asay is among them — happily invite one of the funding sources of this event since inception, which also happens to be viciously suing a struggling company using software patents. It also attacks Linux in the courtroom. How lovely, how charming. And by doing all this, Microsoft is hoping to divide, to upset the crowd, and to crash these events for good. It also did this to Apple on purpose, by its very own admission.
This year, the crowd will be hearing not from an open source CEO. The keynote speaker will be from a proprietary software company that uses patents and technical alliances with Microsoft to market its pricey version of GNU/Linux. Yes, here is the press release:
Novell today announced Ron Hovsepian, president and CEO, will deliver a keynote at the Open Source Business Conference (OSBC) on Tuesday, March 24 at 9 a.m. at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Owned and produced by InfoWorld, OSBC is the industry’s forum for senior business leaders, C-level technical strategists, lawyers and venture capitalists to collaborate on emerging business models, strategies and profitability through open source. In line with the event’s 2009 focus on open sourcing for the enterprise, the keynote, “Linux in the Service-Driven Data Center,” will discuss the next generation of Linux and the heterogeneous, service-driven data center, as well as the ecosystem necessary to support both.
Need it be added that this conference is being organised or at least managed by Microsoft’s friends at IDC/IDG [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]? Microsoft is paying a lot of money to these people and last week we learned that IDG was upsetting Linux editors whom it works with. It also sacked at least a couple, quietly and rudely.
To have Novell take the lead here is very wrong. Paul Rubens has just put it like this:
These same worries were behind Microsoft cozying up to Novell, giving it hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for support certificates it can give or sell to customers who use Novell’s SUSE Linux, to help it fight Red Hat. It’s a kind of ‘divide and conquer’ strategy on the server side of the business, though it doesn’t seem to be working very well: Despite the help from Microsoft, Novell’s Linux business was down 42 percent in the first fiscal quarter of this year (ending January 31st.) By contrast, at the end of December, Red Hat reported revenue up 22 percent in its third quarter.
As that last bit makes very clear, Novell seems like a dying company, so it’s not a bad symbol for open source just because of its alliance with Microsoft; it also represents failure and it demonstrates what happens to those who are gullible enough to trust Microsoft in the vicinity of open source software. Microsoft just wants to devour or to gradually "envelope" it.
Another interesting article has just been punished which makes the company seem as though it’s on the verge of breakage.
The Novell head has no other options.
Novell has “bet the company” on a restructure over the past two years, and Hovsepian is focused on making it a success.
The 30-year-old infrastructure company has downsized its consulting business, which was weighing down overall revenue, and focused on creating infrastructure software products.
At a time when big vendors are using cloud computing to cut out the middlemen and boost profits, Novell will rely mainly on the channel to sell these products.
According to this article, Novell relies on the channel, which it itself admitted to be broken. Novell’s Vice President, Javier Colado, admitted this very recently, having just quit his post as head of Novell’s channel.
Is this the company that OSBC wants to carry its flag? Or has it sold out to Microsoft, just as it did last year? █
“Our partnership with Microsoft continues to expand.”
–Ron Hovsepian, Novell CEO
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