Red Hat opens office in Kolkata

Kolkata: Red Hat, the leading provider of open source and Linux software worldwide, yesterday announced the opening of its sales and support office in Kolkata. This office will serve as the eastern regional hub to address the growing demand for Red Hat products and services in eastern India. Red Hat will now be able provide its complete range of products and services to potential customers in Government, enterprise and education segments in the eastern states. In addition, the new office will also provide support to existing customer implementations.

Red Hat recently announced Open Source Architecture (OSA) its technology strategy which encompasses Red Hat's long-term vision for open source software development and deployment. It delivers a suite of standards-based technologies and services, which allows open source and traditional software applications to be deployed in a predictable, stable environment.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is available as an annual subscription which includes Red Hat Network and support services. It is also backed by the Red Hat Open Source Assurance program. As an extension of open source architecture, in May 2004 Red Hat announced the launch of Red Hat Desktop -- a secure, manageable solution for the enterprise targeted at government, Academic and Enterprise IT organizations. Red Hat Desktop provides a complete user experience with E-mail, Web Browsing, Instant Messaging, office suite, imaging and Multimedia PLUS installation support and a year of upgrades and updates.

The huge potential has risen due to the increased awareness about the benefits of Linux across government, enterprise and education segments. "We see an increasing trend in Linux usage and adoption in this part of the country. The interest shown by government and enterprises towards adoption of open source and Linux solutions have encouraged us to set up a full fledged office in Kolkata", says Javed Tapia, director, Red Hat India.

Red Hat already has representation in Kolkata through its channel partners and training partners.

Red Hat has played a significant role in increasing the popularity of open source and Linux technologies in India and is the leading player in the market with over 95% of the Linux market share.