Yes, we all know Ubuntu has strong momentum on the desktop. But what about the server? Glad you asked. There’s a growing body of evidence suggesting Ubuntu 7.10 — Gutsy Gibbon — will mark the beginning of a strong server push for Canonical.
Canonical has publicly stated that Ubuntu 7.10 will include several server-focused enhancements. The company has also hinted that it was preparing a small business server suite. Also, Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth has called for Canonical, Red Hat and Novell to synchronize the timing of their major Linux releases by 2010– a proposal that would allow software developers to more easily support all three platforms.
But that’s not all. Canonical is now negotiating to have Ubuntu preinstalled on servers, according to IDC — though no major deals are in place yet.
I see a clear opportunity for Canonical to succeed with Ubuntu on small business and some departmental servers. If Canonical wins server business, I think it will come at Novell’s expense. After all, Red Hat is widely considered the safe Linux choice by chief information officers and Novell’s SuSE Linux hasn’t exactly set the world on fire (though sales have picked up since Novell signed the controversial partnership with Microsoft).
Of course, I’m getting a little ahead of himself. Red Hat is humming along, Novell remains at $1 billion company and Canonical is a small, privately held business with 120 or so employees. But in this case, I think the underdog — Canonical — is holding a strong hand. As a daily Ubuntu user, I’m impressed with Canonical’s software so far.
All About Ubuntu 
Joe:
I couldn’t agree more. It is certainly a great development, and can pave the way for Linux into small businesses. I posted to my legal technology blog on this today tying in to earlier posts on Linux in the Law Office.
Steve Richardson
I also agree. The other thing that Ubuntu server has over Red Hat is that you don’t have to pay anything to get ubuntu server. If you want support, then you buy that, but the software itself is free. That is going to get Ubuntu through a lot of doors that the $750 a yr. red hat subscription won’t fit through. This kind of grass roots server implementation model I think will help it grow much faster than if they tried to take Red Hat head on. Yeah, they won’t get service contracts on a good chunk of those users, but they will get increased brand loyalty and the help of the un-affiliated developers out there.