Xandros may be a relatively small Linux vendor, but it's sure trying to
make some noise. Almost two months ago it became the third Linux
vendor to buy into Microsoft's patent protection covenant, and now
it's expanding its scope by acquiring collaboration vendor
Scalix.
myITforum Daily Newsletter; August 17, 2007 - myITforum Newsletters::
Microsoft and Xandros Expand Collaboration Thursday, August 16, 2007 myITforum.com Xandros licenses protocols to enable Scalix e-mail servers to better
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Financial terms of the agreement are not being disclosed, though Xandros
expects that most Scalix staff will be retained. Scalix CEO Glenn Winokur
will not be joining the Xandros management team, though he is expected to
work on the Xandros advisory board. The Scalix brand will also be retained
as a separate entity.
"Scalix is best positioned and best perceived as an award-winning
enterprise-grade scalable e-mail solution based on its strong R&D history,"
Xandros CEO Andreas Typaldos told iCentera: Portals for Mortals - Featured Customers::
Scalix, an independently operated, wholly owned Xandros subsidiary, is the premier . launch new products, enter new markets, and expand existing ones.
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SitePages - Microsoft News::
Microsoft and Xandros Expand Collaboration. Microsoft and Linux platform provider Xandros announced a messaging protocol license and collaboration agreement
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internetnews.com. "It's also best
positioned in connection for Outlook support, web-client access, and
co-existence in a mixed-platform/Windows-dominant world. In other words,
it's best positioned for the enterprise."
Xandros and Scalix are hardly strangers, as there is already a version
of Scalix bundled with Xandros Server. Typaldos noted that Xandros will
continue to improve and deepen this integration as a result of the
integration.
That said, Xandros isn't going to exclude other collaboration systems
from running on its Linux server. Xandros Server will continue to support
other messaging platforms such as Zimbra and Open Exchange. On the flip side,
Scalix will continue to be supported on other Linux platforms such as Red
Hat and Novell/SUSE.
In June, Xandros officially partnered with Microsoft in a deal that provides
patent covenants to Xandros customers in the event that Linux and open
source components distributed by Xandros infringe on Microsoft's
intellectual property. Microsoft has alleged that open source infringes on at least 235 of its patents.
Xandros' deal with Microsoft may well help to improve the Scalix offering in
some respects, though intellectual property issues aren't on the table.
"As an application rather than as an OS type of product, the patent
covenants don't apply," Typaldos said. "On the other hand, interoperability
does apply, and our relationship with Microsoft helps in that regard."
Scalix claims to have more than 200,000 downloads of its freely available
Scalix Community Edition. The company plans to launch a new open source
community site at ScalixForge as a base for its open source development
initiatives.
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