Red Hat Announces Roadmap for Channel Strategy and Programs

Red Hat invests in people, systems, process and programs to enable broader adoption of open source on a global basis. SAN FRANCISCO - March 13, 2007 - Red Hat (NYSE: RHT), the world's leading provider of open source solutions, today announced that it has

RALEIGH, N.C -

Red Hat is increasing its focus on Business Partners who are committed to Open Source, with its new Global Partner Program that will include: Leads for qualified partners, training benefits for RHCE and RHCA, ability to participate in Marketing Development Funds (MDF) programs for demand generation as well as other benefits for participating partners. These benefits represent a 3-fold increase in value over prior years.

Certified Service Provider Program. Announced in January 2007, the Certified Service Provider Program (CSP) is a global, invitation-only partnership. The program is designed to encourage the growth of open source service practices through collaboration between Red Hat Global Professional Services and service-oriented channel partners with open source expertise and resources.

Red Hat Partner Portal. Red Hat's Partner Portal has been a resource for partners since 2003. Providing a single place for partners to easily and seamlessly do business with Red Hat, the portal enables partners to access leads, update profiles, request co-marketing funds, obtain sales and technical certifications and communicate with Red Hat. Red Hat is pleased to announce that the Portal will be localized in the following languages: German, French, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese.

Red Hat Subscription Center. The Red Hat Subscription Center will make managing subscriptions more simple by making it easier for partners to renew customer subscriptions. Red Hat will serve as the 'back office' for renewals and the Center will offer services such as renewal reminders, renewal processing and will enable partners to easily participate in the annuity business that subscription sales offers by tracking all the customer renewal information and making it available to partners via the Red Hat Partner Portal.

"As a leading force in the open source marketplace, Red Hat's expanded channel program will be extremely valuable to IT resellers capitalizing on the demand for Linux and other open source solutions," said Senior Vice President, U.S. Marketing, Bob O'Malley of IT products distributor Tech Data Corp. "Red Hat is demonstrating its commitment to the channel by investing in resources, infrastructure and programs designed to help resellers grow their business. Tech Data is excited about this opportunity to further strengthen our successful relationship with Red Hat."

"Red Hat's Certified Services Provider program provides Helio Solutions with incremental services revenue and new business opportunities," said Bert Condensa, Executive Vice President of Sales at Helio Solutions. "We have experienced a measurable increase in the value we receive from Red Hat based on their enhanced focus on the Channel."

For more information on these and other Red Hat Partner programs, please visit http://www.redhat.com.

 

About Red Hat, Inc.

Red Hat, the world's leading open source solutions provider, is headquartered in Raleigh, NC with satellite offices spanning the globe. CIOs rank Red Hat the most valuable software vendor three years running in the CIO Insight Magazine Vendor 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 an operating system platform, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, along with applications, management, and middleware solutions, including JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite. Red Hat is accelerating the shift to service-oriented architectures and enabling the next generation of web-enabled applications running on a low-cost, secure open source platform. Red Hat also offers support, training and consulting services to its customers worldwide and through top-tier partnerships. Red Hat's open source strategy offers customers a long term plan for building infrastructures that are based on and leverage open source technologies with a focus on security and ease of management. Learn more: 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 the integration of acquisitions; the ability of the Company to effectively compete; 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; risks related to data and information security vulnerabilities; ineffective management of, and control over, the Company's growth and international operations; adverse results in litigation; the 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, 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 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.