Dell boosts Red Hat and extends Linux commitment

Red Hat and Dell Computers announced a worldwide service and support agreement today and Dell committed to factory installing Red Hat on its entire server line, the PowerEdge series.

"The Dell seal-of-approval is important in advancing Linux-based operating systems in the enterprise space," said Matthew Szulik, CEO of Red Hat. He added: "Today's announcement adds worldwide service and support [and] customers can look to Dell for a one-stop-shop customised Red Hat Linux solution."

Jack Steeg, vice president of alliances, Dell Computer Corporation's Enterprise Systems Group, explained the move: "Over the last year, we've seen increasing demand for Red Hat Linux, particularly from Internet Service Providers, government agencies, universities and businesses."

Steeg said that Dell's shipments of Red Hat Linux have more than doubled over the past quarter and he expects this trend to accelerate, "as the adoption and acceptance of Linux as a mainstream operating system increases significantly."

Customers will get a combination of free and discounted services and support in native languages. The agreement provides 90 days Web and phone support from Red Hat; discounted Red Hat professional services, including installation assistance and 180 days of subscription services which automatically notify administrators via email of new OS versions and patches.

Red Hat recently opened a series of customer support centres to provide support for Europe, Middle East, Africa, Japan and the Asia Pacific region. In early US trading, the announcement boosted Red Hat's shares by over $15.