Red Hat announced yestoday, at its analyst day in New York, the acquisition of Netscape server software, from America Online.
AOL has owned the software since 1998, when it bought the Netscape property. The move is a means for Red Hat to broaden its horizons beyond its core Linux operating system. The company will release Netscape Enterprise Suite as open source code. While specific licensing terms are not yet known, Red Hat's intent is to use the GNU General Public License (GPL)..
Netscape had tried, but failed, to use open source tactics to fend off competition from Microsoft's Internet Explorer, when it released the source code of its namesake browser. Netscape kept its server software, which Red Hat purchased for a reported $20.5 million, as a proprietary asset.
Red Hat's CEO Matthew Szulik said he feels there is sufficient support within the open source community to breath life into the browser. To some analysts, the decision to purchase the server is confounding. Joe Keller, vice president of application and development at Sun, said, "They're buying antique software. They used to find the best open source and bring that forward. Now they're buying the oldest of commercial software and making it open source."
Szulik disagrees, pointing out that when Netscape released the source code in 1998, development of the server software continued. Part of AOL's acquisition included a team of about 50 programmers. Szulik further noted that the directory software is included in Hewlett-Packard's Server Suite for UNIX. Red Hat's acquisition includes both Netscape Directory and Certificate Server.
Ultimately the price of Red Hat Enterprise Linux will rise because of the purchase. Red Hat will be incorporating its newly acquired software into its current line-up of products. Szulik said the new acquisition will enable the company to, "achieve deeper penetration into the enterprise and government market."
Sun currently employs Netscape technology that it acquired as a provision of AOL's Netscape purchase dating back to 1998. Parts of Netscape's intellectual property have found their way into several of Sun's open source development platforms, including Sun Open Network Environment and Java Enterprise System.