IBM, Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux Counter Windows 7
According to an IBM press release issued today:
Times have changed: When Windows 95 launched more than a decade ago, IBM lined up and bowed to Microsoft. Fast forward to the present and IBM is partnering with Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux team to counter Microsoft’s Windows 7 launch. Plus, Big Blue and Canonical expect “hundreds” of channel partners to back the Ubuntu offering. Here’s the scoop.
According to an IBM press release issued today:
“IBM and Canonical are introducing a cloud- and Linux-based desktop package in the US. designed for use on a company’s existing fleet of personal computers (PCs) or even low-cost netbooks.”
The solution, known as the IBM Client for Smart Work package, helps organizations save up to 50 percent per seat on software costs versus a Microsoft-based desktop, in addition to completely avoiding requisite hardware upgrades, IBM asserts.
IBM and Canonical watchers will recall that the duo launched a similar offering in Africa in September 2009. IBM claims the Africa move “sparked calls for the solution in the U.S.”
The IBM-Canonical effort comes one week before Canonical launches Ubuntu 9.10, a much-anticipated upgrade. Several niche PC makers, including System76 and ZaReason, are prepping Ubuntu 9.10 systems. Dell has also been introducing new Ubuntu systems.
Here Comes the Channel
Now here’s the interesting part. IBM and Canonical claim “hundreds” of partners will offer the IBM Client for Smart Work in U.S. in 2010. True believers apparently include:
- regional systems integrators, ZSL and CSScorp;
- virtual desktop providers, Midas Networks and KalariSys;
- and several online, vertical industry businesses.
The Windows 7 Alternative?
But what exactly is IBM Client for Smart Work? Glad you asked. IBM says it includes:
- Word processing, spreadsheets, presentations from IBM Lotus Symphony, which is a free-of-charge download on the Web.
- Email from IBM Lotus Notes or the cloud-based LotusLive iNotes launched earlier this month, which starts at $3 per user, per month;
- Cloud-based, social networking and collaboration tools from LotusLive.com, ranging from $10 per user, per month.
- Ubuntu, an open platform for netbooks, laptops, desktops, and servers.
IBM says pricing varies depending on configuration and support requirements.
Growing Relationship
This isn’t the first time IBM and Canonical have partnered. The two companies, working with Virtual Bridges, have also developed a solution that allows customers to virtualize their Ubuntu desktops on Linux servers.
While promising, The VAR Guy concedes that readers need to keep the IBM-Canonical relationship in perspective. No doubt, Ubuntu has momentum on the desktop. And it’s good to see channel partners offering open alternatives to Windows 7. But Ubuntu’s march forward in the IT channel requires continued investment by Canonical and its hardware and software partners.
Still, times certainly have changed. IBM didn’t dare speak about Windows alternatives a decade ago. Today, Big Blue is helping to drive those alternatives.
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TVG, thanks for your timely post.
One interesting thing about this and many other recent developments is that, irrespective of how much market share they are going to capture, they are putting a lot of pressure on Microsoft. Take netbooks. They started off as Linux machines, then Microsoft muscled in and regained the lion’s share of the market. But, instead of selling Windows licenses at $50-$70, they are selling them at $0-$5. And so, the more offerings there are which are considerably cheaper than Microsoft’s, the less Microsoft will be able to charge.
Simplicius: You’re on the mark again. Innovation and competition put price pressures Microsoft. And Microsoft, to its credit, is responding with what appears to be a vastly improved operating system: Windows 7. We’ll see what that means to Microsoft’s revenues over the next year or so…
I don’t see Microsoft recovering while Ballmer is at the helm. I just don’t get the impression he’s pluged into the world and fully connected.
Aikiwolfie: Tough to say if any executive could keep Microsoft on top of the software world at this point. Microsoft is in too many different markets and has too many borders to defend…
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The VAR Guy,
You are the only guy writing about linux whose opinion I still respect. Please keep it that way and do not mention linux again as a serious contender on the desktop.
Linux on the desktop is a dead end – anybody who has sufficient common sense knows it.
Keep linux for servers and other specialized human-interaction-less applications
Linux employs the wrong idioms to be competitive on the desktop and it can’t really be fixed (the driver model, application installation/deployment, Firefox-OOo-Thunderbird speed, stability, increasing buginess, lack of professional – industry-standard applications and most of all deluded linux jihadists).
As a former linux enthusiast I still run a few Ubuntus on my VirtualBox. Ubuntu 9.10 is as buggy as ever (flash still crashes, pychess messed up my Fics account settings, sudoku reports wrong times and so on). I really feel sorry for Mark Shuttleworth.
Jusan@5: Thanks for the note
Vi@6: You flatter The VAR Guy. Our resident blogger tries hard not to hype Linux desktops. Especially since buzz on Windows 7 is so positive and Apple fans aren’t giving up their Macs. Still, IBM’s moves are worth watching. And The VAR Guy thinks Linux desktops can compete in some markets.
But keep The VAR Guy honest and keep posting constructive counterpoints like you did in Comment 6. The VAR Guy reads and appreciates your views.
@Vi
Look at how much Linux on the desktop has improved in the past 2-3 years.
Look at how many Linux users there are (hint: at least several tens of millions, and growing).
Look at how much momentum there is behind it, with Android creeping into bigger devices (Acer or Asus just released a dual boot Android/XP netbook) and Chrome OS due soon.
You exaggerate to the point that you sound like a shill, with the included “I am/was a Linux users” remark that shills have learned to use so that they can’t be accused of being Linux-haters.
And lastly, your feeling sorry about Shuttleworth is really one of the silliest remarks I’ve heard this week (OK, it’s only Wednesday, so there’s time).
Yeah I agree with the VAR guy. Microsoft is in too many different markets. As big a company as Microsoft is, it’s spreading it’s self thin. But it was people like Ballmer who took them there.
If they are to banish the negative reputation they’ve gotten over the years. Microsoft will need an infusion of new blood. Someone at the top from outside the company that hasn’t been indoctrinated with the Microsoft way of doing things.
The VAR Guy:
This is clearly a revenue stream for IBM’s cloud based services.. but what cut of the service revenue does Canonical get?
Proprietary vendors like IBM and Virtual Bridges like Ubuntu as a platform specifically because of its no acquisition cost. It’s a no brainer. But… are these partners helping Canonical find customers for its own service offerings..to drive any revenue at all back to Canonical? What this is.. is a great channel opportunity for IBM’s subscription based cloud services… not for Canonical.
How can Canonical build a channel strategy that doesn’t drive revenue for themselves? This is the paradox of for Canonical. They drive deployments but have absolutely no services to offer that are considered valuable enough to pay for as a value-add. IBM’s cloud services are a value add with a price tag that people are paying for. Virtual Bridges VDI tech is a value-add with a price tag that people are paying for. But Canonical? Who’s paying Canonical? And for what? The reality is Canonical has priced themselves out of the value-add support as a service market and their partners are doing nothing to help them.
-jef
Jef: Once there are paying customers The VAR Guy will attempt to track down how/where the money flows.
The VAR Guy:
Well I can’t say I blame you for not having information at your fingertips, “Once there are paying customers….” is a valid excuse to use for pretty much any of Canonical’s business efforts to date.
You can look at this latest IBM thing is just an extension of the previous Virtual Bridges/Ubuntu/Lotus virtual desktop bundle that IBM was pushing last year. Did you ever track down customers of that bundle? The pricing for an Ubuntu virtual desktop solution from Virtual Bridges website doesn’t include a cut for Canonical (I asked)…only the bundle you get through IBM has Canonical support priced in. And well… no word from anyone on how many people are choosing the IBM bundle that includes Canonical support priced in versus the solution direct from Virtual Bridges.
-jef