Red Hat CTO Michael Tiemann Appointed to Board of Open Source Initiative

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC—January 25, 2001—Red Hat, Inc., the leader in developing, deploying and managing open source solutions for Internet infrastructure, announced today the appointment of CTO Michael Tiemann to the board of the Open Source Initiative (OSI). Tiemann has more than 15 years of experience as a developer, consultant, executive and advocate of open source software.

"Michael brings to the OSI Board a wide range of open source experience and Linux community perspective," said Eric Raymond, co-founder of OSI. "We have worked closely with many of the companies he's advised, and we look forward to Michael's continuous efforts to promote the value of open source and preserve the integrity of the OSI mission."

The OSI has worked extensively with the open source community to create an Open Source Definition, identify software licenses consistent with this definition and register the OSI certification mark. Software providers use this mark to identify software that meets the official Open Source Definition.

"I have always firmly believed that providing source code for others to read, modify and share is the most powerful way to advance software technology," said Michael Tiemann, CTO, Red Hat. "I also understand that these freedoms must be defined and protected, and I look forward to being part of the team that upholds the standards of OSI definition and certification."

About Red Hat, Inc.
Red Hat (Nasdaq:RHAT) offers users one single, trusted point of contact and a common platform for developing, deploying and managing open source across Internet infrastructure and devices that connect to the Internet, ranging from small embedded devices to high availability clusters and integrated web server/ecommerce OSes. And the Red Hat Network, Red Hat's unique management technology, helps companies worldwide easily manage it all by delivering open source products, service, support and information on-line in real-time.

In addition to the award-winning Red Hat Linux server operating system, Red Hat offers Stronghold Secure Web Server and Credit Card Verification Software for secure e-commerce and is the principle provider of GNU-based developer tools and support solutions for a wide variety of embedded processors. Red Hat also provides run-time solutions such as Linux, eCos, µClinux, the award-winning RedBoot, custom engineering services, support, and training from to organizations in all embedded and Linux markets.

Red Hat is headquartered in Research Triangle Park, N.C. and has offices worldwide. Please visit Red Hat on the Web at www.redhat.com. For investor inquiries, contact Lippert/Heilshorn at (212) 838-3777.

Forward-Looking Statements
Forward-looking statements in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Investors are cautioned that statements in this press release that are not strictly historical statements, including, without limitation, management's assessment of the market for embedded devices, constitute forward-looking statements which involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, Red Hat's ability to service the embedded device market, reliance upon strategic relationships, Red Hat's dependence upon an open source business model, reliance upon independent third-party Linux developers, management of growth, expansion of Red Hat's business focus and operations, the possibility of undetected software errors, the enforceability of the GNU General Public License and other licenses under which Red Hat's products are developed and licensed, the scarcity of Linux-based applications, the risks of economic downturns generally, and in Red Hat's industry specifically, the risks associated with competition and competitive pricing pressures, the viability of the Internet, and other risks detailed in Red Hat's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which may be accessed through the SEC's Web site at http://www.sec.gov.

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