By Sarah Left, 2 May 2000 00:25
NEWS Linux is ready for mission critical use in businesses - at least according to Larry Augustin, the CEO of open source outfit VA Linux, which has just opened offices in Europe. Augustin made the comments during a visit to London late last week in an attempt to persuade companies that now is the time to go open source. Augustin is convinced Europe is now ready for the Linux servers and software he markets. He said: "Linux started in Europe, and there's been early acceptance for the OS in Europe. But I don't think that Europe has had the build-out in the Internet that the US had - until now." Analyst house IDC last month announced that VA Linux ranks as one of the top five vendors in Linux server shipments for the fourth quarter of 1999; Augustin hopes the accolade will serve the company well in the European market. "Top five is just a start," he said. "We want to be number one. Our goal is to be the leading Linux company in Internet servers for Linux. Our systems remain the best focus for Internet data centres." However, Martin Butler, chairman of the Butler Group, said: "It's a ridiculous statement to be quite honest. On very large applications only IBM can hack it, and on very small apps you wouldn't need the complication of Linux. VA Linux may be quite well-suited for the midrange - so I don't believe he's right in all areas." The company's European operations will be based in Switzerland, and William Cobert - formerly with SGI - will serve as the European managing director.
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