Novell has announced it will bundle support and training offerings with its market leading SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, making it easier than ever for small and medium-sized businesses to now leverage the power of Linux. With this new offering, Novell solution provider partners, the company’s primary channel to the mid-market, can now deliver a comprehensive Linux solution, including 24x7 support and online assistance, to their customers. Unlike other Linux distributors, Novell is the only company to provide free training as part of a complete solution. With this offering, customers can get the best engineered Linux in the market as well as the training needed to effectively implement and maintain their environment. Backed by one of the largest Linux technical support teams in the industry, customers gain all the core services they need to leverage Linux in a simple, supported package.

“We are seeing a growing interest in Linux by small and medium size businesses,” said Jodi Honore, vice president, vendor management, Ingram Micro Inc. “With an offering that is easy to explain, deliver and support, solution providers, previously apprehensive of taking on a new operating system, can now build their Linux practice and gain new customers.”

Small and medium sized businesses look to local-based solution providers for IT advice and support. With open source, solution providers have the opportunity to increase their value to these organizations, By providing an integrated Linux technology, support and training offering, Novell gives its channel partners a solution that is easy to explain, deliver and support for their customers.

“There has been significant focus on the public sector’s use and adoption of Linux and open source - and this is understandable if you think of the high potential,” said Tom Ekevall Larsen, president & chief executive officer, Scribona AB, a Novell partner in Europe. “Novell is now raising the bar for the mid-market and giving its partners a really powerful tool with this integrated Linux solution that includes a full package of media, technical support and training. This provides companies like ours with everything we need to help our customers to be even more successful with their Linux strategies.”

“Our partners are telling us that their mid-market customers want to deploy open source, but that they need a packaged Linux solution more tailored to their needs,” said Ron Hovsepian, president and chief operating officer for Novell. “This new offering delivers a compelling, easy to deploy solution that gives small and medium sized businesses a boost by providing the technology, skills and support they need to drive real business value from open source.”

This offering is available to new customers, effective immediately. For more information, please visit the Novell website.