Turbolinux emphasizes non-Linux products
One of the four companies to win prominence selling the Linux operating system now is trying to direct attention to higher-level software that runs on many different computers.
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On Monday, the San Francisco-based company will announce PowerCockpit, a product costing $100 to $200 that will let administrators define various computing tasks and remotely install the software on groups of computers running those tasks. The software will run on computers running any version of Linux, not just the one from Turbolinux, Chief Executive Ly-Phong Pham said in an interview at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo here.
PowerCockpit joins EnFuzion, a product announced in January 2000, that lets Linux, Unix and Windows computers become part of a larger calculation engine.
Eventually, Turbolinux expects half its product revenue to come from these higher-level software products, Pham said. Product revenue overall is expected to account for about 60 percent of sales, with services revenue making up the remainder.
"Today the majority of our revenue comes from the (Linux) distribution," she said, but higher-level software will become more important. "It will become at least 50-50 within the next few quarters."
Turbolinux, like many Linux and Internet companies, grew by leaps and bounds during hype-filled times two years ago, when investor money was plentiful. More recently, the times have been more difficult. The company was forced to withdraw its IPO and cancel a merger with Linuxcare, lay off staff and appoint new top management.
Pham dismissed the idea that Turbolinux might abandon its version of Linux and use one from another company, such as Linux leader Red Hat.
Turbolinux currently has enough funding to reach profitability, Pham said.