FNB switches 12 000 desktops to Linux

**DC@DR** · June 4th, 2007

Following recent reports of a South African bank eyeing out Linux, Novell South Africa today issued a statement in which it said it had reached an agreement with First National Bank of South Africa to standardise the bank's 12 000 desktops in its 680 retail branches on Novell's Linux product.

With 12 000 desktops switching to Linux this is very likely the most significant Linux and open source implementation in South Africa to date.

Stafford Masie, managing director of Novell SA, said that "Novell's ability to offer a complete ecosystem to take care of the customer long after the installation of software and establish a trusted relationship was key for FNB. Deployments like this one continue to demonstrate the value and readiness of desktop Linux solutions from Novell for enterprise customers."

Marius Agenbag, managing director of Ubusha Technologies, said, "Novell was chosen based on the freedom and flexibility it afforded the customer. While much of the overall solution uses standard technology, a fair amount is being customised for FNB's unique needs. Without access to open source code and adherence to open standards, those changes and customisations will not be possible."

FNB was not available for comment prior to publication.

Ref: http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?id=1562

Comment: Hey, guys, come one, who said that Novell is going to die after going to bed with M$. Damn it, life is not fair, why South Africa FNB has picked up Novell, not Ubuntu or Redhat. And you know what, Xandros is now going to follow Novell to sign patent-protect deal with M$. I really don't know what to believe in now, the money power of big but bad like M$ or the freedom of open-source community

**Ireclan** · June 4th, 2007

Oh goody. Linux gets just a little bit more usage. Of course, Novell just HAD to be the one they picked....

Honestly, I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

**H.E. Pennypacker** · June 4th, 2007

Ireclan, unfortunately, Novell is just the company that is more at the forefront for businesses. It has established itself well in the business area, and it has lots of users. It's a giant, basically.

Well, Novell is better than nothing, anyway. Like I said, it's unfortunate, but Novell at least supports the open source community, with its own projects (e.g. Evolution, F-Spot, etc.).