http://www.newsobserver.com/business/technology/story/1439714p-1471907c.html
Red Hat makes a deal By DAN EGBERT, Staff Writer RALEIGH - Red Hat's efforts to win big corporate customers got a boost Wednesday with the announcement of a marketing agreement that pairs the open-source software company with two of the biggest names in computing. The Raleigh-based company is packaging its Linux operating system with hardware from Dell and database software from Oracle in a bid to increase confidence in Linux as a viable computing platform for major business operations. A year in the making, the deal was touted as "Unbreakable Linux" at an event for press and customers at Oracle headquarters in Redwood Shores, Calif. Though this isn't the first agreement among these companies, the deal was cast as the key to overcoming concerns that Linux would not perform well in large-scale computer applications. "Today's announcement is significant because it's Oracle validating this platform for prime time," said Kevin Thompson, Red Hat's chief financial officer. The deal is another step in Red Hat's quest to become a player in the market for corporate customers, but "it's way too early to call a financial upside because of the deal," said Brent Williams, an analyst for McDonald Investments in New York, who rates Red Hat stock "hold." ... -- --henry schaffer
