UnitedLinux Intros ISV Partner Program

The UnitedLinux consortium Wednesday took the wraps off an ISV partner
program intended to help software vendors test and certify their
applications on the UnitedLinux platform.

Through the new UnitedLinux Ready Partner program for ISVs, partners will
be able to self-test their products and earn the “UnitedLinux Ready”
designation. This entitles them to use a UnitedLinux Ready Partner logo,
and opens the door to feature their products on the UnitedLinux and member
companies’ Web sites.

UnitedLinux member companies include Conectiva, SuSE Linux, Turbolinux, and
SCO Group .

“We designed the UnitedLinux Ready Partner program to streamline and
simplify the testing and certification process for ISVs,” said Paula
Hunter, general manager, UnitedLinux. “Our goal is to have as broad a range
of applications as possible available to Linux users, and we are happy to
assist ISVs toward this objective.”

Those interested in the self-certification process may obtain a free,
current developer’s version of UnitedLinux through the consortium’s
Developer Zone. ISVs can then install and execute their applications on
UnitedLinux, running them through the UnitedLinux Ready testing and
validation tool. UnitedLinux said ISVs can also engage the services of any
of the UnitedLinux member companies for help with certification and
validation.

Once products pass the testing process, UnitedLinux said they receive
UnitedLinux certification upon the execution of a letter of responsibility,
signed by the ISV. The letter warrants that the product has been tested on
the UnitedLinux platform and passed without interfering or changing
UnitedLinux code; that the ISV agrees to support its customers who deploy
the product on UnitedLinux; and that the ISV agrees to follow UnitedLinux
rules for UnitedLinux Ready Seal usage.

UnitedLinux’s program bears similarities to the ‘Red Hat Ready’
self-testing and certification program introduced by UnitedLinux rival Red Hat in April.

Red Hat’s ISV partner program gives participating ISVs a number of
benefits, including the listing of their applications and contact
information on redhat.com, the listing of their applications on Red Hat’s
official application list for Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and the use of the
Red Hat Ready logo when promoting their applications.

Both Red Hat and UnitedLinux are part of Oracle’s Unbreakable Linux
partnership, which debuted
its own ISV partner program in March. The Unbreakable Linux Partner
Initiative goes even further in supporting ISVs, providing sales
incentives, marketing funds, development and support resources to convince
ISVs to jump onto the Unbreakable Linux bandwagon.

Oracle is convinced that customers are interested in
moving to a low-cost server operating system like Linux, but they also want
a single technical support number to call and classic enterprise-level
application support. Providing that is the thrust behind Oracle’s
partnerships with Dell , Hewlett-Packard , Red Hat and UnitedLinux. The Unbreakable Linux Partner
Initiative program further extends Oracle’s support capabilities to its ISV
partners.