SUSE Dropping OpenStack Cloud to Focus on Core Platforms

SUSE is getting out of the OpenStack marketplace, ending the development and availability of its SUSE OpenStack Cloud products and services as the company pivots to focus more strategically on its Linux and other open source software product lines.

The move was unveiled in a blog by Michael Miller, the company’s president of corporate development and strategic alliances, who described the decision as part of a top-to-bottom review of the company’s core offerings and competitive strategy, as well as a reflection of customer demand.

SUSE’s Michael Miller

“The decision is not a referendum on OpenStack,” Miller told Channel Futures. “This will help us better serve customers and align us with the long-term future of the industry.”

The company’s product and strategy re-evaluation comes just after two huge events in its history this year. In March, SUSE was acquired by investment company EQT Partners after being sold by its previous owner, Micro Focus. In Jul,y the company named a new CEO, Melissa Di Donato, as the first woman to take the company’s helm since SUSE was founded in 1992.

The $2.5 billion acquisition by EQT ended more than four years of SUSE ownership by Micro Focus and is the fourth involving SUSE since 2004. SUSE’s previous owners also include Novell and Attachmate. The deal was seen by analysts as a move that should be beneficial to partners and customers as SUSE gains more control over its path in the IT industry. Di Donato came to SUSE Linux from SAP, where she served as chief operating officer and chief revenue officer since 2016. She replaced Nils Brauckmann, who had led SUSE for eight years as CEO.

“We’ve recently gone through a really thorough, broad and deep strategic planning process that began with the Micro Focus separation and when we became a standalone company,” said Miller. “It was a perfect time to do that.”

The move was further accelerated by the company’s leadership change, which also spurred the company’s internal analysis of its business.

“Through that process we considered what is happening in the market and where our customers are going and how we can position ourselves to provide strategic help for them,” he said. “We can’t be everything to everyone.”

Miller would not discuss how many OpenStack customers SUSE has and how many will be affected by this decision, but he said the company has been talking with customers and partners about how it will assist them in their transitions to other OpenStack platforms and services.

“We’ve been talking with our customers about where it is going in the future and what are their plans for their workloads,” said Miller, “We’ve informed all our customers of the decision and are actively engaged in how to help them move forward and transition them forward.”

Even as SUSE ends the sales of new OpenStack contracts, it will continue to provide SUSE OpenStack support for existing customers through the end of their current contracts, as long as it is needed, said Miller.

“We will work with them to determine where it goes from there,” he said. “If they want to transition to something else before that, we will help them. There’s not a specific cutoff date for everybody. It’s just based on existing subscriptions.”

SUSE will work closely with its customers to ensure they get the service and support they expect from the company, he said.

Several analysts have divergent views about SUSE’s move.

Tony Iams of Gartner said it makes sense that SUSE wants to …