Red Hat Expands Support for Corporate Linux Users

North Carolina-based Red Hat, Inc. this week announced that they are making on-site professional services available for Corporate users of the Linux operating system (OS).

Aside from the issue of software development, support is a significant factor that many industry analysts feel will help Linux to become a much more widely adopted operating system for business and personal computer users. Red Hat’s latest move will dramatically supplement its existent professional service and support offerings, which include e-mail and telephone support and certification programs.

Red Hat’s new on-site services will include customer choices including classification and organization, implementation, on-site consulting, planning, recurring operation and audit and strategy formation. The new services were developed and are offered through collaboration with Austin, Texas-based Collective Technologies.

“Our mission is to provide complete service and support for Linux-based operating systems in today’s companies,” commented Red Hat’s CEO, Bob Young. Service and support “are key elements that will ensure that customers realize the full productivity benefits” of Linux, added Young.

“Red Hat’s services offer just that to organizations who want the power, reliability and flexibility of Linux-based operating systems.” Donald Young, an executive with Jones Business Systems, a Red Hat customer, commented that Red Hat’s professional support services helped his company to “implement the types of services that make business-critical applications viable.”

HP Announces Linux Desktops

Hewlett-Packard Company this week announced the release of two new HP VISUALIZE Intel Pentium III and Intel Pentium III Xeon processor-driven personal workstations that will ship with a factory installed Red Hat Linux OS.

The HP VISUALIZE PL450 and XL550 Personal Workstations have been designed for engineers and scientists or anyone else who wants to add the functionality and system reliability of Linux along with the latest Intel processors to their design endeavors. The new workstations will also deliver Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software solutions from Avant!, Mentor Graphics, Synopsys and other technical applications.

“Offering a choice of leading technologies is part of our strategy to provide the best workstation solutions to meet our customers’ needs,” stated Roger Jollis, Market Development Manager for HP’s Workstation Systems Division. “With the availability of HP VISUALIZE Personal Workstations pre-loaded with Red Hat Linux, we’re effectively extending the robustness of a UNIX operating system to the Intel platform for EDA customers and other customers who want that environment.”

According to a company statement, the “announcement underscores HP’s commitment to furthering the development of Linux as a high-quality operating system that meets the needs of a wide-range of highly demanding technical applications.”