The Waltham, Massachusetts-based Linux and identity software vendor acquired UK-based IT consultant Salmon Ltd in July, adding consulting, application development and integration services expertise around CRM, business intelligence, and ERP tools, and this is the sort of acquisition Seibt is eager to see replicated across the rest of Europe.
We need to have in each of the countries in EMEA a critical mass for consultancy, he said. We need people who understand customer issues and can work with customers to solve those issues. We will continue to look into that market and if possible invest.
Seibt said that improving the consulting operation is a particular concern for Europe, and Novell is also prepared to make a number of smaller acquisitions to boost its Linux market presence worldwide following last year’s acquisitions of Ximian and SuSE Linux.
In any case you have to decide if you develop function or features or purchase, said Seibt of the potential for smaller technology-led acquisitions. Adding more open source technology experts and functions to the Linux stack is certainly something that Novell is considering, with David Patrick, head of Novell Resource Management and Ximian, identifying the Squid web proxy cache as an area of interest to Novell.
Potential acquisitions, according to Seibt, are also possible in parts of the Linux market where the company does not already have a presence, such as embedded Linux. Novell first began talking about a potential move into embedded Linux in March, shortly after Linux rival Red Hat Inc signed a development agreement with the previously embedded systems specialist Wind River Systems Inc.
