Johannesburg, 21 Sep 2004
The open source community will soon have access to a nationwide Linux support centre.
[VIDEO]Novell will launch the centre and reveal the availability of an original equipment manufacturer Linux initiative that will allow consumers to purchase PCs pre-installed with SUSE Linux. The company is hoping to have the first such PCs in shops by the beginning of October, says Novell SA MD Stafford Masie.
"Now you will be able to walk into a computer shop and not only choose your type of hardware, but also your software as well." Masie adds that the SUSE Linux will retail in the region of R500.
The open source company has signed agreements with a number of hardware distributors, including Mustek, Pinnacle Micro and Rectron, and Masie says both OEM and retail support for the initiative has been significant.
"Not one of the OEMs we took the idea to said no, and most retail chains have also agreed to get on board. The response really has been overwhelming."
The two announcements will effectively remove business risk from the equation, a problem that has long been a barrier to mass open source adoption, says Masie.
"Business risk is 90% of the reason why companies have been hesitant to adopt Linux. Now, we are able to show the people that the risk has been removed."
The company has partnered with local outsourcing company Choice Sourcing for the support centre, which will initially only cover Linux products.
"While open source users previously had to rely mainly on Internet support to address their software problems, the national support programme will provide a reliable and accountable system," says Choice director, Alek Zdziarski.
"When we asked people why they weren`t adopting open source, the reason we most often heard was that people want someone to blame, and I think this deal will offer that to the customer."
Speaking about the support centre, Zdziarski says that customers will have access to both telephonic and on-site support. "There will be support stations situated at 100 locations around the country, which will be situated according to demand."
"There will be a free Linux call line, as well as one charged at the standard Telkom cost of R3.67 per minute. Obviously, those customers who require on-site support will have to pay for that accordingly."
As a result of the two announcements, Masie is confident that Novell will achieve significant growth in the market.
"Currently we own 3% of the local market share, but within a year I think we will own 10%, maybe more," he says.
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