Open source software were always promisable. Thanks for the collaboration, opportunities and infrastructure that it provides to both end users and enterprises. Linux is an amazing example for a successful open source code which shapes future.
The 25-years-old operating system has grown so fast. Today, it is used almost everywhere. From web servers, android devices, supercomputers and to IoT devices. Linux became more than just an operating system to run some lab servers. And because of this, it created huge opportunities for enterprises to benefit from. This market allowed great tech companies to be established to fulfill its needs. Which gave us the 3 major1) Linux companies: Red Hat, SUSE and Canonical.
The business model for each of the major companies was similar; selling support services and subscriptions for their own open source and Linux-based products. It was the case for most business models in the open source world as well; profit from around the product, not the product itself.
In this report, we highlight the latest financial information about these companies, and what products and services they provided in order to reach this level.
Red Hat: The Largest & Most Solid Open Source Company
Since its establishment in 1993, Red Hat grown so fast to become the biggest Linux and open source company and a key player in the open source world.
Red Hat offers a lot of solutions and services. Such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, which is its own Linux distribution made for enterprises. And Red Hat OpenStack, which is a platform for deploying and scaling public and private clouds. And OpenShift, which is a platform-as-service (PaaS) solution to deploy web applications (written in Python, Node..) as a standalone contained platform. Red Hat also provides management solutions such as Red Hat Cloudforms and Anisble.
Red Hat provides a lot more products and technologies. Red Hat certifications are one of the most valuable certifications in the Linux market. If you are planning to get a career in this field, you definitely would go for RHCSA or RHCE. According to Red Hat2), more than 90% of the top 500 fortune global companies rely on them for their infrastructure. This ecosystem of technologies, certifications and services is the main investment for Red Hat.
A complete list of what Red Hat offers can be seen below:
Red Hat also has a lot of contributions to a lot of other free and open source software. Even software which is not owned by it. A complete list can be retrieved from Red Hat’s website.
With a number of around 10000 employees around the world3), Red Hat’s 2016 fiscal year (ended in February 29, 2016) showed4) a revenue of $2.05 billion. A net profit of around $200 million and $716 million in operating cash, and total assets of $4.155 billion.
Respectively, Red Hat’s latest report about the third quarter results for fiscal year 2017 (ended December 21, 2016) showed5) a revenue of $615 million for the quarter alone. The company is expecting a total revenue of around $2.4 billion for the fiscal year 2017 (which will end in February, 2017). Thus, making it – fairly – the largest open source company in the world.
SUSE: The Great Lizard of Linux
SUSE is also a very-well known company in the Linux world. When it was founded back in 1992, it was the first company to use Linux for targeting enterprises purposes. Back then, SUSE was a standalone company, but in 2003, it was acquired by Novel. Which was also acquired by Attachmate group in 2012. Finally, MicroFocus acquired Attachmate in 2014. Thus, SUSE became a subsidiary of the MicroFocus group.
SUSE provides services and products similar to Red Hat, keeping the enterprise in mind. Their main product is SUSE Enterprise Linux, which is their own Linux distribution ready for the enterprise. And SUSE OpenStack Cloud, SUSE’s own version of the OpenStack solution to deploy public and private clouds. And SUSE Manager, which is a solution for managing datacenters and multiple clouds (They even support Red Hat’s clouds). They provide a lot more products and technologies for the enterprise.
SUSE is growing rapidly, and is still providing a lot of enterprise solutions to the public since 1992. They also provide Linux certifications and training like SCA (SUSE Certified Administrator) and SCE (SUSE Certified Engineer).