Celebrating SUSE’s 20 Years Of Linux Love

Commercially supported Linux software from SUSE had always been developed and distributed under open source models and licences, but openSUSE further opened up development processes, allowing programmers and users to test and help contribute towards the development of its community and commercial versions, SUSE officials said.

Changing hands

In its 20-year history, SUSE has undergone two notable ownership changes. SuSE Linux AG was acquired by Novell in early 2004. Seven years later, Novell was acquired by the Attachmate Group, which re-established SUSE as an autonomous business unit.

During its two decades in existence, SUSE has brought the power of Linux to a wide variety of customers, including the London Stock Exchange, BMW, Walgreen’s, SONY, Sesame Workshop, and Office Depot.

Indeed, SUSE Linux Enterprise Linux powers all manner of mission-critical IT systems, from high volume market data and trading, to manufacturing and production, to e-commerce and air traffic control, just to name a few.

“We have a rich history as a Linux pioneer,” said Hubert Mantel, an original founder of SUSE, in a statement. “We’re proud to be part of the open source community and long-serving contributors to Linux. Celebrating our 20th anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect upon our history and share our visions for the future. The possibilities for SUSE today are more exciting than ever. Perhaps even more exciting than when we started 20 years ago.”

To commemorate its achievements of the last 20 years, SUSE will host a series of events worldwide culminating in SUSECon 2012, September 18-21 at the Caribe Royale Hotel in Orlando, Florida.