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Single Shop for Linux Tools, Apps

Merger of Corel and Inprise/Borland will produce a range of tools and desktop programs for both Linux and Windows.

By Tom Spring, PCWorld   

"This gives us a real end-to-end solution from tools all the way to the suite in Linux, and gives us clearly the largest set of Linux technology from any company," says Michael Cowpland, who will remain president and chief executive officer of Corel.

As part of the $2.44 billion merger, Inprise/Borland will become a Corel subsidiary focusing on Linux software, on which both companies have bet heavily. The increasingly popular free Linux operating system has steadily grown more accepted among software developers, who view it as a viable alternative to Microsoft Windows.

"We now see ourselves as a single-source providers for Linux solutions," Cowpland says.

Corel will not only continue to offer a Linux-branded operating system and a suite of Linux software applications, with Inprise/Borland it can now provide tools for software developers to build Linux applications.

Still a Windows World

For the estimated 50 million users of Corel's Windows-based programs, the deal means little, Cowpland says. "Windows applications are still Corel's cash cow," says Cowpland, who predicts 10 percent of Corel's sales in 2000 will be Linux software titles.

The relationship between Corel and Inprise/Borland has some history. Borland originally sold Corel two components of its suite, the Paradox database and Quattro spreadsheet.

Despite a huge commitment by Corel to offer a Linux desktop operating system and Linux versions of its office and graphics software, most consumers have shied away from the Linux operating system. Currently, Linux is primarily used on high-end servers and not ordinary desktop computers.

"Corel is wagering heavily on Linux," says Stacey Quandt, an analyst at Giga Information Group. "Corel and its competition are betting Linux will be the next e-business platform." Competitors include Red Hat, which sells the Linux operating system and offers programming tools through its recently acquired Cygnus Solutions.

In November, Corel began selling a desktop version of Linux and announced that Linux versions of its Office suite, CorelDraw, and Photo Paint will ship later this year. Inprise recently announced plans to offer a Java development environment for Linux.