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SCO gives last forum - Company Business and Marketing

Caldera takes on the mantle of UnixWare as rechristened Tarantella takes on ASP market

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- The last SCO Forum marks the end of an era. And while Caldera Systems has taken over the reins and pledges to host the event next year, the flavour and feel of the show is forever changed.

"It's the last SCO forum, but it's not the last forum," said John Fisher, SCO Canada Inc.'s country manager. "Caldera will now be responsible and own the event. It will still be called Forum 2001," he said.

Indeed, the buzz surrounding the Linux/Unix marriage of Caldera and SCO was on everyone's lips at this year's forum, which was set against the idyllic, tranquil backdrop of the Redwood Forest. And while there was a hub of excitement around the new high-tech alliance, there was also some trepidation about what the new business animal will look like.

Orem, Utah-based Caldera bought SCO's server software and services division last month.

Fisher was unsure what to expect at the show, which saw 14 resellers from Canada take up campus life during the four-day event. "To be honest, I was a little nervous going into it," he told CDN. "But to me, it seemed better than years past. The quality of the sessions was good, there was a lot of good information on clustering and the whole Caldera thing made it very interesting for other people as well."

For Canadian resellers, the news is already positive, Fisher said, because it brings a host of products and opportunities around services into the previously Unix-only mix.

Fisher said SCO will renew its focus on server and clustering products, and solution stacks.

Overall Forum 2000 -- which attracted about 3,000 IT professionals including resellers, IS managers and business executives -- wrapped up late last month at the University of California in Santa Cruz. A key message was all about securing partnerhips in the open source environment.

Ron Herman, co-founder of the 75- member reseller association known as ixorg, said SCO's move to sell its server software and services divisions to Caldera bodes well for resellers who are looking to expand their offerings and jump into the Linux game.

He added he's been rooting for a SCO-Linux connection for some time. "I've been trying to push the diversification into Linux for the past few years, but SCO was resisting that," he said.

And while SCO initially derided the Linux movement, the company eventually had to change its tune, he added. Poor financial results (in part a result of dismal server software sales) coupled with the market's growing fascination with Linux prompted the change, he adds.

According to Ransom Love, CEO of Caldera Systems Inc., SCO wasn't the only company that needed to embrace change and rechart its course.

"What Linux needs more than anything else is a global infrastructure," he said. "So if you look at the combination of these two companies, you get support, marketing, sales infrastructure and partners in every major market in the industry."

In short, thanks to the alliance, Caldera gets instant access to SCO's 15,000 VARs worldwide and its hearty, strongly supported Unixware technology, said ixorg's Herman.

Caldera, on the other hand, which brings about 50 reseller partners to the mix, has a strong background in Linux technology and support.

The first step of the new Caldera/SCO entity is the development of the Linux kernel for UnixWare 7. According to the company, the technology is a key step toward providing an open Internet platform.

Meanwhile, Doug Michels, president and CEO of SCO, said the company plans to change its name to Tarantella Inc. Michels, who will remain CEO of the renamed company, says the "start-up-like" operation will focus on providing Web-enabling software that plays in the ASP space.

In Canada, two employees are moving out of the SCO office in Woodbridge, Ont., to become part of the Tarantella entity, Fisher said, adding their new office location is still undetermined. Meanwhile the SCO operation -- which will now hang a Caldera sign on its door -- will remain in Woodbridge. The operation currently employs five people, he said, indicating he is unsure about any staff changes.

Fact Check

* Forum 2000 attracted about 3,000 IT professionals.

* Caldera gets instant access to SCO's 15,000 VARs.