Novell ties up partnerships to boost Linux

Novell has unveiled a series of partnerships aiming to boost take-up of its SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) 9, making more applications available.

E-commerce software company Intershop will port its Enfinity Suite 6 e-commerce software to SLES 9, and deals have also been struck with Tarantella, Software AG and Bull.

Novell and Intershop will pitch the latter's installed base of Europe's online retailers with the proposition of running their operations on Linux to realise significant cost savings.

"Novell's [SLES] 9 is rapidly becoming the Linux platform of choice for enterprise applications," said Johan Rosius, Novell vice president of alliances for EMEA.

Novell has also signed an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with secure remote system access provider Tarantella, for Tarantella to develop a secure global desktop appliance.

This will comprise Tarantella's Secure Global Desktop Enterprise Edition 4 and SLES 9, and is aimed at helping OEMs and channel partners provide more integrated systems.

The integrated software already runs a series of server operating systems, including Microsoft Windows, Unix, legacy IBM 32xx and AS/400, from an array of clients.

It is engineered to handle security, scalability and network performance for enterprises, and provides low-cost legacy application migration.

The strategic partnership with Software AG, meanwhile, is aimed at speeding Linux adoption in the XML database software market, and includes the company becoming a Novell alliance partner.

Under this agreement Software AG, which has around 3,000 customers worldwide, will develop a software stack on SLES 9 and its Tamino XML Server and EntireX Mediator integration applications.

Karl-Heinz Streibich, Software AG chief executive, said in a statement: "This partnership with Novell is particularly significant as it underpins our XML Business Integration suite with the best of breed [SLES 9].

"Together, this is a vital value proposition for Software AG's customers in their migration to open source."

Server and software company Bull has also joined Novell's PartnerNet technology partner programme and will offer SLES 9 on its complete server range, including those running Intel Itanium 2.