Canonical is preparing to introduce a new service option for Ubuntu Linux
users, known as Ubuntu Advantage.
Slated for official release on June 7, Ubuntu Advantage is a comprehensive
service that combines systems management tools, technical support, access to
online resources, training and legal assurance, Canonical officials said.
Ubuntu Advantage is designed to help businesses that have deployed Ubuntu as
a desktop or server solution to become more successful in their adoption of the
platform. The new subscription package gives organizations a single service to
underwrite their investment in Ubuntu and is split into different service
levels to cater to the different uses of Ubuntu in business.
"It has become clear as the use of Ubuntu in the enterprise increases
that businesses are now using Ubuntu in more areas of business than before,
including as a cloud platform." said Neil Levine, vice president of
corporate services at Canonical, in a statement. "Ubuntu Advantage
provides the set of services that companies need to make Ubuntu a core part of
their IT strategy. Flexible pricing and a choice of service levels mean any
business can realize what our customers already experience—that to optimize
your Ubuntu deployment, engaging with the appropriate Canonical service is the
easiest and fastest route to success."
Canonical's Landscape Web-based systems management and monitoring tool is
central to the Ubuntu Advantage service. It significantly reduces the time
required to manage large numbers of machines by enabling systems administrators
to manage multiple machines as easily as one—including physical, virtualized
and even cloud platforms. Landscape can automate repeated tasks, provide
consistency and eliminate errors, the company said.
“Landscape saves us many hours a week that we can now spend optimizing our
existing services and developing new offerings for our brand serverloft to
increase our competitive advantage,” said Guido Nickels, head of system
administration at PlusServer AG.
Ubuntu Advantage comes in three flavors for server users and two for desktop
users. Ubuntu Advantage comes in Essential, Standard and Advanced flavors for
Ubuntu Server users. The Essential service is for basic common workload usage,
such as file and print, e-mail and Web serving. The Standard service is for
standard enterprise use and server virtualization. The Advanced service is for
more advanced configurations such as high-availability clustering. This version
also comes with 24/7 advanced support. The Essential edition runs $320 per
server; the Standard edition, $700 per server; and the Advanced edition, $1,200.
The desktop version of Ubuntu Advantage comes in Standard and Advanced
editions. The Ubuntu Advantage Standard desktop edition is for general business
activities such as e-mail and Web browsing. The Advanced desktop edition is for
more intensive desktop use, such as development work. The Standard desktop
edition runs $105 per desktop, and the Advanced edition runs $165 per desktop.
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