From: rwarwick@fphcom.com
Date: Wed, 7 Jun 2000 12:18:01 +0000
To: pressinfo@fphcom.com
Subject: Businesses Embrace Linux At Industry Conference

Businesses Embrace Linux At Industry Conference

Delegates attending last week's European Linux Conference in London hosted
by SuSE Linux in association with IBM, heard how Linux is fast becoming a
viable business option for corporate desktops, while continuing  to
strengthen its position as one of the major software powers behind the
world's corporate server market. 

Representatives from both the Linux and business communities heard leading
industry figures discuss the impact of the open source operating system.
Commenting on the restrictive patent and copyright laws regarding
proprietary software, Alan Cox of Red Hat, stated how businesses are
seriously limited by proprietary software, unlike the open source
alternative which offers bespoke solutions.  Of the other direct business
benefits, Cox said that by using open source software, users can share
fixed costs and non-core business expenditure can be spread more
effectively.  This was echoed by Dirk Hohndel, CTO of SuSE Linux, who also
highlighted the robust, secure and versatile features of Linux  -  high
agenda items for most businesses worldwide. 

The fact that the open source operating system is well established within
the industry and regarded by experts as a serious rival to Microsoft, was
reaffirmed by Larry Augustin, CEO of VA Linux.   He confirmed that Linux
was responsible for powering 31% of the world's server market and 4% of the
desktop market and that market growth rates are exponential. 

In keeping with the vendor-neutral ethos of Linux, the Conference took a
generic look at its adoption and investment viability.  Adam Wood of
Deutsche Bank said that investors feel comfortable with the Linux model and
that this movement has a proven track record, which makes it a good
investment prospect.  Moreover, Linux can be deployed in a mission critical
environment. 

Adam Jollans, Euro Marketing Manager for IBM Software on Linux, commenting
on the Conference said, "It was great to see the success of the SuSE Linux
Conference and are pleased to be working with SuSE Linux in promoting Linux
within the European business community."

Rudiger Berlich, managing director of SuSE Linux UK, also stated that, "The
success of the conference is testament to the increasing recognition of
Linux as a viable operating system for the business environment." He went
on to say, "Sharing a platform with IBM was gave us the perfect partner to
extend the Linux message to European industry." 

-ends-

About SuSE:
SuSE, with a workforce of over 300 people, is one of the leading
international Linux companies.  SuSE has offices in Germany, the UK, Czech
Republic, the US and Italy.  SuSE Linux is used by more than 50,000
business customers worldwide due to its stability and high quality.  SuSE
offers an extensive range of qualified consulting and support services for
using Linux in a business environment, as well as commercial Linux software
and complete Linux systems.  SuSE contributes considerably to Linux
development projects such as the Linux kernel, glibc, XFree86[tm], KDE,
ISDN4Linux, ALSA (AdvancedLinux Sound Architecture) and USB (Universal
Serial Bus). 

For further information about SuSE:  http://www.suse.co.uk 
or email: info@suse.co.uk 

For more information please contact:
Rupert Warwick or Liz Aistrop
Fox Parrack Hirsch
Threeways House
40-44 Clipstone Street
London
W1P 7EA

Tel: 020 7436 4336
Fax: 020 7436 4224

Email: rwarwick@fphcom.com
       laistrop@fphcom.com