Sometimes passages in an otherwise mundane press release consumes your mind like a sumo wrestler at an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Dell's recent announcement about adding SuSE Linux to their line-up caught more than a few folks attention. Considering that Novell and Microsoft were in on this announcement raised Open Source conspiracy theories to new levels, leaving such purists to wonder what company would sign-up next and be the forth horseman of the software apocalypse. I doubt that even the misshapen love child of Michael Dell and Bill Gates could bring about the End of Times for Open Source, so I decline to be more paranoid than otherwise necessary.

But what did catch my attention was the competitive push Dell announced.

"Dell will purchase SUSE Linux Enterprise Server certificates from Microsoft and establish a services and marketing program to migrate existing Linux users who are not Dell Linux customers to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server."

Simplified, Dell is grabbing discounted SuSE licenses through Microsoft to take Linux business away from other box vendors. Microsoft's spin on the agreement was pure IP F.U.D. :

"... Dell is the first major systems provider to join the business collaboration that was formed by Microsoft and Novell in response to customer demand for greater interoperability and intellectual property (IP) assurance."

Hmmm. Maybe a little extra paranoia would be a Good Thing.

The message to the market is clear: Microsoft and Novell believe Linux/UNIX IP is still in play. Given the imminent demise of SCO (facing delisting and with less than one year of cash left at current burn rates), odds are the disputed IP will be grabbed through channels by one or the other of Microsoft or Novell (though Red Hat buying SCO's carcass and unilaterally releasing the IP to would be a fun ploy).

Novell, Microsoft and now Dell's marketing angle is simply to ease people to brand preference primarily through fear. In business, one cannot stand discontinuity, and computers are now the very source of business continuity. Anything that threatens the flow of data is as unwelcome and dangerous as a thermonuclear exchange. Dell could peddle off-brand Linux, as it does with Ubuntu, but they need an enterprise-grade Linux with enterprise-grade support for their top-end customers. That means SuSE or Red Hat, or both. Dell got to the top of their mountain through standardization, reducing risk and variables. They perceive Linux to be the same -- remove risk and variability, and gain market. Joining the Novell/Microsoft pact is a tentative step for Dell in switching loyalties from Red Hat, the market leader, to SuSE, the alleged market IP owner.

Perhaps as important as IP F.U.D. is OS virtualization. The under-reported angle of the Microsoft/Novell blood pact is their cooperation on virtualization. Virtualized machines are the new norm, and heterogeneous shops want to mix OSs on commodity hardware without fear of interoperability crisis. Novell and Microsoft agreed to support and enhance virtualization interoperability and assure that at very least SuSE Linux would not bomb Windows out of a server, and that Windows would not disrupt SuSE (all bets are off concerning any other flavor of Linux).

For the market mavens, this is a classic one-two punch, providing both carrot and stick motivations. A Dell spokesdroid summed it up pretty well:

"This move... for customers... who want to migrate to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for the IP assurance and interoperability benefits."

Carrot = virtualization interoperability. Stick = IT disruption when Microsoft or Novell demands Red Hat reparations. Push and pull motivations are impossible to ignore and difficult to resist. Expect these two concepts -- IP F.U.D. and virtualization vitamins -- to be the new mantra from Microsoft, Novell, and now Dell.

Guy Smith is the chief consultant for Silicon Strategies. Guy brings a combination of technical, managerial and marketing experience to Silicon Strategies projects. Directly and as a consultant, Guy has worked with a variety of technology-producing organizations. A partial list of these technology firms include ORBiT Group (high-availability backup software), Telamon (wireless middleware), Wink Communications (interactive television), VA Software (enterprise software), SUSE (Linux distributions and applications) and Novell.