Red Hat Exchange: Strategic Shift for Linux Mainstay

next
(Page 2 of 2)

It also could be a brilliant move for Red Hat if wide adoption of other open-source products boosts demand for Linux. "With this exchange, Red Hat is able to broaden the landscape of open-source choices for customers, and it puts itself in the middle of things," says analyst George J. Weiss of researcher Gartner.

The exchange may turn out to be most critical for the smaller companies riding on Red Hat's coattails. Linux has gone mainstream in corporations, but so far, most open-source programs that run on it, such as customer relationship management software, haven't seen that kind of uptake.

A not-yet-released survey by Gartner of North American and Northern European information technology purchasers shows that 59% use Linux on server computers, yet only 16% are using open-source software for customer relationship management.

"Rhx is the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for applications," says Paul Doscher, chief executive of JasperSoft, a small San Francisco company whose software program for business decision-makers will be sold there. "I think it will knock down the last barrier delaying companies from adopting open-source applications."

Sharing is Caring

Red Hat executives had been considering doing something like rhx for years but didn't have the heft to pull it off. The turning point came last February when Szulik called a gathering of the open-source clans at San Francisco's St. Regis Hotel.

Managers from 16 other companies showed up. Red Hat had a reputation for being difficult to deal with, so some were surprised when Szulik told them he wanted to become a hub for the industry and asked for feedback.

"Hand after hand went up," recalls Matt Asay, a vice-president at Al Fresco, which makes software that helps companies organize and manage their documents. "People said: 'We need Red Hat to stop being selfish and think about us as much as you're thinking about you.'"