Red Hat Summit
Key partners have been added in the region with a focus on the Small Medium Business (SMB) market, public sector, life sciences to healthcare, research and development, telecommunications, specialists in Unix to Linux migrations and specialist resellers for strategic partners such as HP, IBM, Oracle, SAP and others.
“Red Hat has successfully achieved greater penetration of the European market as a result of working with our key channel partners who represent a central component in our business strategy on the continent”, said Werner Knoblich, Vice President of Red Hat, Europe. “Red Hat has evolved the Open Source Architecture to help customers to realize the true value of open source software rather than just considering it as a low-cost hardware option. Red Hat’s skilled and specialist Advanced Partners are key to promote how Red Hat Enterprise Linux is creating more added value, flexibility and efficiency to enterprises and our aim is to support them in every step of the way through our dedicated channel programme.”
The Red Hat Advanced Partner Programme allows European resellers, VARs and system integrators to offer their customers a complete open-source solution encompassing the entire portfolio of Red Hat open source products such as the management tool, Red Hat Network (proxy and satellite server architecture and management/provisioning modules) Red Hat Training, Consulting and Services. Red Hat Advanced Partners receive comprehensive support from Red Hat staff, both in pre-sales and in distribution, as well as exclusive access to information and evaluation versions. As part of the evolution of the business partner programme, Red Hat is empowering its partners to sell the full range of Red Hat Training courses including on-site training delivered at the customers premises. To qualify as a Red Hat Advanced Partner, partners must show that they have the necessary Linux expertise, by employing at least two Red Hat Certified Engineers (RHCEs).
The recently launched ‘Linux is easy’ campaign is a further proof for Red Hat’s increased channel focus in providing partners with an easy to understand campaign aimed at small and medium sized businesses to help them to migrate to Linux. Partners and end users can find resources on the Red Hat Europe website such as how-to videos, trial subscriptions to get started, Red Hat’s award-winning training and certification, as well as stories from customers who have already made the move--plus Red Hat’s worldwide network of resellers who can help customers at every step.
For more information on Red Hat’s Advanced Business Partner Programme where partners can find resources such as trial subscriptions to get started or how to get involved with Red Hat’s award winning training and certification programme please go to http://www.europe.redhat.com/partners/ . End users are able to find the local resellers on this page as well.
For more information on Red Hat’s ‘Linux is easy’ campaign please visit http://www.redhat-info.com/linux_is_easy/uk/
References:
UK & Ireland
“As one of the largest specialist Unix and Linux Support and Services Companies in Ireland, Sabeo Technologies joined the Red Hat Advanced Partner Programme in January 2005 after we detected an increasing level of interest in Linux within the market place. The results we have achieved speak for themselves; within the past 12 months Sabeo has built the largest dedicated Red Hat Enterprise Linux Support and Service practice in Ireland, successfully completing a number of euroMillion plus projects within our Linux Competency Center. As a further example of our continued expansion plans on Red Hat Enterprise Linux we have recently launched our 24*7 Business Critical Support capability, providing our mission critical clients with on-site support services. Our success is clearly linked to the professional way we address the Linux market and the support and focus we receive from the Red Hat Advanced Partner programme that helps us delivering and communicating our Linux strategy effectively.”
John Long, CTO Sabeo Technologies Ltd, Ireland
www.sabeo.com
"Abtech has traditionally been an HP Enterprise Business partner in the Unix space and we started looking at Linux as a way to move the company forward. A key aim was to find a way to grow our customer base and then introduce our services and solutions to these new customers. Red Hat offered us a way to achieve this. 2005 was the first full year of the Red Hat partner programme for Abtech but the level of commitment they have shown to their channel is very high. We work with a number of vendors, but Red Hat is the first one to have a dedicated internal sales team supplying leads and diverting renewal business to their key advanced partners. As Red Hat Advanced Partners, we are receiving several leads per month, most of which turn into business. Abtech also receives free training sessions and regular one to one technical training on Red Hat products and we are also developing a range of Linux solutions underpinned by our Red Hat Advanced Partner branding."
Nigel Wright, Managing Director, Abtech Computer Services Europe
http://www.abtech-uk.com/solutions/linux.html
"The Red Hat Advanced Partner Programme with training and focus on key partners with the skills to deliver Red Hat has enabled Unilink to rapidly expand the number of our Red Hat customers and offerings. Perhaps the most significant has been the adoption of Red Hat high availability clustered solutions meaning that many of our customers businesses now depend upon Red Hat solutions delivered by Unilink."
Francis Toye, Managing Director, Unilink
www.unilink.co.uk
Germany
"Atix has specialised on optimally scalable and highly available enterprise IT infrastructures. Our specialties are advanced storage and cluster solutions based on open source software. In Red Hat we have found a partner, who by way of the Advanced programme offers us great support technically as well as regards customer care and marketing. Our com.oonics Diskless Shared Root Cluster is based on Red Hats cluster technology and is the most powerful and flexible open source storage solution, which is currently available. We already have implemented a number of very advanced projects together, for example the Munich trade fair as well as Leipzig trade fair and full service provider PI-Tech. We are looking forward to further joint growth."
Mark Hlawatschek, CEO of Atix
www.atix.de
France
“Atout Libre provides its customers with solutions that are both long-lasting and reliable. That is why we have set up a partnership with Red Hat. Our customers choose us for the technical expertise and long term support we provide. They benefit not only from the expertise of our Red Hat certified engineers, but also from guaranteed long term support for their solutions, access to the very latest versions of the software they use, and our commitment to producing results throughout our whole range of engineering and facilities management services”
Alain Montibert, President of Atout Libre
http://www.atoutlibre.fr
“Our strength, which is also the reason behind our success, lies in the fact that we offer our customers the highest possible level of guarantee. We specialise in the integration, development and deployment of Open Source solutions such as clustering, GFS and strong authentication. In these fields, specific expertise in often complex environments is essential. We have a two-pronged approach to support services – respecting standards and working within Red Hat’s support framework, which is seen by our customers as a guarantee of the utmost reliability. This is our added value. At present, demand for Red Hat Enterprise Linux workstations is increasing and they will probably be one of our biggest sellers in 2006”
Maxime Gaillard, Manager and Consultant at Startx
http://www.startx.fr
“In order to fulfil the requirements of large companies, Overlap has set up an excellent support network. We provide our customers with the insight and assistance of experienced specialists, enabling them to choose an IT tool perfectly adapted to their sector of activity. We guarantee our customers that their business activity will be supported not only by the best solutions in terms of equipment, but also by the most secure infrastructure solutions with the highest possible level of support. That is how we have gained the trust of partners such as IBM and Oracle, who require certified solutions. Red Hat has built up a network of partners and developed a certification programme allowing us to offer our customers an end-to end secure IT infrastructure with the best possible levels of support, provided by our skilled team of experts.”
Pascal Weber, Consultant at Overlap
http://www.overlap.fr
Italy
“Being a Red Hat partner means being part of an elite group based on sharing a clear strategy: an open and collaborative business model. A model based on shared development that enables to take advantage of all the investments that each single member brings to the system, guaranteeing agile access to new technologies and allowing us to become pioneers of new solutions on the IT market. The strong link that exists between the solutions we offer and Red Hat’s offering enables us to create high value added solutions able to compete and dominate a market still based on proprietary and scarcely innovative solutions. Red Hat has been a strategic choice and guarantee for our success!”
Lucia Losi, Manager at Byte-Code
www.byte-code.com
“Having achieved the highest level of partnership with Red Hat has brought multiple advantages to our company, not only commercially, but also in terms of added value we can offer our customers. As we know, a partnership with a vendor doesn’t only mean meeting sales goals, but also counting on technical personnel. A direct channel with professionals, the chance to approach clients jointly and the support from Red Hat are only a few of the advantages that this partnership guarantees.”
Christian Couto, Sales in Roma1 EDP Spa
http://www.roma1edp.it/
Nordics
“We consider Red Hat being at the forefront of Linux-development and we value our partnership with them and have established a very close contact with Red Hat Nordics. To be a Red Hat advanced partner strengthens our position as Linux-leaders in the Norwegian market. Together with Red Hat we can offer a complete solution to the Enterprise market in Norway when it comes to software, consultancy, planning and support. Our company also has the opportunity to offer a wide range of acknowledged certifications and Red Hat product-trainings.
We are pleased and impressed with the support and interest Red Hat gives us, we have a huge amount of satisfied Red Hat customers and we know for a fact that the support we received from the company contributed to our good results in 2005. Red Hat has been well received in the Norwegian market and the market share will grow continuously. We are looking forward to keep on cooperating with Red Hat and to the success this partnership brings.”
Jan William Haagensen, Sales Manager at Linpro
www.Linpro.no
“The interest for Linux has increased strongly over the last few years. Reliability, security, cost efficiency and the open format has been driving factors for the Linux-market. We consider Linux as one of the most important server-platforms. At Kerfi we have put a lot of effort into competence development and are aiming to be an expert when it comes to delivering products and services for the Linux-platform.
We value our close partnership with Red Hat very highly since they are market leaders and at the forefront of the development of new technology. We believe in continued growth and successful cooperation”
Annika Åstrand, Sales Manager Kerfi AB
www.kerfi.se
Benelux
SLTN is a company that has made the strategic choice to work with Red Hat for its open source capability. The value added reseller has recently been awarded the Red Hat Business Partner status. “We only have good things to say about our relationship with Red Hat. Like SLTN, Red Hat is a very ‘driven’ company and the team works very closely with us to develop the market and deliver solutions that really work for our clients.” SLTN is participating with the open source supplier in the ‘ICT and Networking Event’(TINE) in the Netherlands between 26 and 28 April 2006.
Rob de Lange, Manager of Systems Solutions at SLTN
http://www.sltn.nl/
The same applies for the relatively young company and Red Hat Ready Partner, Real Open IT, which focuses on advising companies on open source solutions. “When you’re putting together your portfolio, you need to work with big players such as Red Hat to ensure that you maximize your reach. We’ve recently certified two people on Red Hat Enterprise Linux and we’re working towards becoming a Red Hat Business Partner in the near future.”
Bram Haasnoot, Director at Real Open IT
http://www.realopenit.nl
Spain & Portugal
“Red Hat offers Micropyme the chance to give our technicians good Linux training, in order to provide better support for our clients. Apart from training and certification, we can also develop co-marketing activity, allowing us to increase our market presence while generating demand for professional services at the same time. Red Hat is world leader in the Linux OS for business environments, and provides technical support for all purchasing clients. As a Red Hat advanced partner we can resell those services and support with the corresponding margin and profit for us (or for the channel).
Clearly, we appreciate the work of Red Hat with its Open Source projects (such as Fedora). Our partnering relationship with Red Hat has only started recently and we hope to expand our Red Hat solution offerings soon.”
Juan Luis Picazo, Manager at Micropyme
http://www.micropyme.com/
“Itway’s business is based on the channel and as a value-added supplier we try to understand our clients’ needs as best as possible to help them develop their business.
Red Hat’s decision to incorporate a Regional Channel Manager in Iberia has generated more confidence and commitment in Red Hat technology among the channel and our customers.
My experience with Red Hat tells me that there is still much to be done on the channel side – we need to consolidate a Network of Partners with technical and commercial knowledge of the full range of Red Hat services and the benefits that they will bring to companies opting for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
With the work already started by the Red Hat Channel Manager and with Itway’s support, we believe that in the new financial year, bigger projects will be tackled by the channel, as it invests more and more in Red Hat training”.
Isabel García, Manager at Itway
http://www.itway.es/ItwayVad/index.cfm?set_lingua=ES
“Since 1996 Essi Projects has developed its projects entirely on Unix environments. During these years the development and integration of solutions with Open Source, and especially Linux, have lacked confidence on the part of IT operatives in these environments. Today, things have undergone a definitive change thanks to companies such as Red Hat. The dignity, confidence and quality of service required by Linux have been achieved. Essi Projects has opted for this model of quality and service value, and has made Red Hat its main Operating Environment in AMD and Intel architecture.
Essi Projects is currently Red Hat’s Business Advance Partner. It has a team of Red Hat certified engineers and a considerable number of projects and implementations in database, security, storage and website environments based on Red Hat.”
Antoni Guillén, Manager at Essi Projects
http://www.essiprojects.com/
“Our partnership with Red Hat in Portugal, gave us the ability to complement our experience on Consulting Services, such as System & Data-management, Business Intelligence, eBusiness and Mobile, with a new Linux offering. Portuguese market is clearly a big potential market for Linux, due to economy constraints and the rule of “get better performance with less money”.
We’ve chosen Red Hat Services and the Business Advanced Partner Programme, because of its market credibility, in this “new” market where enterprises need to feel the confidence in their suppliers. Red Hat gave us, and our customers that support. Sybase Portugal also operates a Training Center and provides Red Hat training courses enabling to grow this business unit, giving more capacity to our customer’s success.”
Rui Ribero, Manager at Sybase Portugal
http://www.sybase.pt/
“As a major IBM wholesaler, including Red Hat in our product catalogue means we can offer our distributors infrastructure solutions with a much lower TCO, without lowering expectations regarding the platform, its stability and reliability. In a market that is ever more competitive, where the presence of the Open Source and Linux community is ever greater, at this point in time, Red Hat seems to be the most interesting choice, because it makes the best of both worlds: the innovation of the free community, along with the stability and reliability that only a company with more than 10 years of experience and over a million Linux systems installed can offer.”
Angel David López, Manager at Distrilogie
http://www.distrilogie.es/
About Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat, the worlds leading open source and Linux provider, is headquartered in Raleigh, NC with satellite offices spanning the globe. The most trusted name in open source, CIOs and other senior-level IT executives have ranked Red Hat as the industrys most valued vendor for two consecutive years in the CIO Insight MagazineVendor Value study. Red Hat is leading Linux and open source solutions into the mainstream by making high quality, low cost technology accessible. Red Hat provides operating system software along with middleware, applications and management solutions. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide and through top-tier partnerships. Red Hats open source strategy offers customers a long term plan for building infrastructures that are based on and leverage open source technologies with focus on security and ease of management. Learn more:
http://www.europe.redhat.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for the Company, including statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the factors discussed in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC (a copy of which may be accessed through the SECs website at http://www.sec.gov), reliance upon strategic relationships, management of growth, the possibility of undetected software errors, the risks of economic downturns generally, and in Red Hats industry specifically, the risks associated with competition and competitive pricing pressures and the viability of the Internet. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Companys views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Companys views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release.
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- About Red Hat
Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to reliable and high-performing cloud, Linux, middleware, storage and virtualization technologies. Red Hat also offers award-winning support, training, and consulting services. As the connective hub in a global network of enterprises, partners, and open source communities, Red Hat helps create relevant, innovative technologies that liberate resources for growth and prepare customers for the future of IT. Learn more at http://www.redhat.com.
- Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: risks related to delays or reductions in information technology spending; the effects of industry consolidation; the ability of the Company to compete effectively; the integration of acquisitions and the ability to market successfully acquired technologies and products; uncertainty and adverse results in litigation and related settlements; the inability to adequately protect Company intellectual property and the potential for infringement or breach of license claims of or relating to third party intellectual property; the ability to deliver and stimulate demand for new products and technological innovations on a timely basis; risks related to data and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, the Company’s growth and international operations; fluctuations in exchange rates; and changes in and a dependence on key personnel, as well as other factors contained in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (copies of which may be accessed through the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website at http://www.sec.gov), including those found therein under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations". In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic and political conditions, governmental and public policy changes and the impact of natural disasters such as earthquakes and floods. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.
