Canonical and Obsidian Systems have announced the conclusion of an agreement that sees Obsidian being appointed as the first local services and support partner for Ubuntu Linux in SA.
"The appointment of services and support partners is a vital part of Canonical`s strategy of providing a free and open source operating system, but at the same time giving users the choice between using free, informal support channels like the Internet, or pay per use formal channels like the services offered by a support partner like Obsidian," says Canonical founder, Mark Shuttleworth.
"What is critical, however, is the fact that those service and support services are delivered on a local basis, by a local company, in a local language," Jane Silber, Canonical principal member adds.
"Canonical has a strong relationship with Obsidian Systems, that spans many good experiences. That relationship has enabled Canonical to gain good insight into the company`s expertise in the open source arena. Going forward, we will continue working with Obsidian on a local basis, driving open source adoption in SA," she says.
Muggie van Staden, managing director of Obsidian, says his company is very excited with this new appointment, since it formalises a support service his company has been offering to a select group of its clients using Ubuntu Linux.
"As such, this agreement with Canonical will allow us to formally add Ubuntu support to the list of Linux distributions we carry out services and support for and begin treating Ubuntu with the level of importance it deserves."
Van Staden says Ubuntu is an important distribution, not only in the local market, but worldwide. "Ubuntu is based rather strongly on Debian Linux, one of the most popular Linux distributions available today, but nonetheless, one that has achieved uptake that is mainly prevalent in the community space. Canonical with Ubuntu have brought the benefits of Debian to the mass market, giving Debian a more corporate look and feel."
The fact Ubuntu is based on Debian also played in integral part in Obsidian having the skills required to support the platform.
"We were lucky enough to have a handful of Debian specialists in-house when Ubuntu shipped a short while ago. Since Ubuntu is still very close to Debian, building our skills base entailed an internal skills transfer process from our Debian specialists to the rest of our technical staff," he says.
Looking at the physical deliverables from the agreement, Van Staden says Obsidian will offer an entire spectrum of support services on Ubuntu, spanning mainly telephonic and remote support service, engaging in on-site if absolutely necessary.
"Typically the costs of these services will be structured according to the complexity client`s infrastructure and a number of other variables. That said, however, the services we will offer that centre on Ubuntu will be in-line with what the support costs are for other distributions and generally, new clients have access to a free first hour of support," Van Staden says.
Looking forward, Silber says Obsidian marks the first of many services, support and training appointments worldwide. "While it is Canonical`s plan to continue appointing support and training partners elsewhere in the world, it is imperative that we are sure of the company`s background and abilities before we consider them for this kind of formal partnership.
"As such, more appointments will take place when the time is right and in due course," Silber concludes.
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