Small numbers withstanding, there are Free software companies and there are those which merely pretend to be one. Novell falls into the latter class (known as pretenders), to whom "open source" is a mixture of code (Free and non-Free) and also patent-ridden [1, 2, 3, 4, 5].
Taking all that into account, it's reassuring to find that Novell lost its opportunity in the UK. It lost to a much smaller company that actually cares for, specialises in, and understands Free software.
There was some misinofrmation coming from the news and it's corrected in this report from Mark Ballard.
THE UK government published its list of 12 approved suppliers of software to schools this afternoon and it did not include Novell.
But Sirius Corporation is on the list, making it the first Open Source outfit ever to get on an approved list of suppliers to UK government.
Novell had been shortlisted with sixteen other firms in July. Becta, the education quango that appointed the list, had told them it was looking for firms that could supply both straight and Open Source software, said one of the firms and who preferred not to be named.
Jill Henry, Novell's partner director, told the INQ yesterday that it had made it onto the list. Today she said she meant that Novell had been on the shortlist. Novell had in fact resigned from the bidding in July.
Open-source company Novell did not gain accreditation, although it was shortlisted. Novell had not responded to requests for comment at the time of writing.
It was thought LinuxIT and Novell were among the other open source hopefuls and Becta is expected to reveal the full line-up later today.
Jill Henry from of Novell UK confirmed her outfit had also won a place on the framework and that it was the first time an Open Source company had won the coveted position. Novell has been on frameworks before, but not in a capacity that would sanction its supply of Open Source software.
As The Inquirer reports, two open-source companies, Novell UK and Sirius, have been granted access to the UK's £80 million ($149 million) Software for Educational Institutions Framework, which enables them to supply software to the UK public sector. There may be additional open-source vendors chosen but the official list won't be released until Wednesday, September 24.
The breakthrough came when two open source companies – Sirius Corp. and Novell UK – won a place on Britain’s little software list, the £80 million Software for Educational Institutions Framework. The reality is that companies not on the list have scant chance of winning a procurement contract for British schools.
