Canonical initiates direct operation in the country
Valor Econômico
In recent years, the British Canonical saw its flagship product, the Ubuntu operating system, gain room in educational projects and in agencies of the Brazilian Government. The estimate is that the system is currently installed in nearly one million machines. The company, however, has not received a penny for that. It is not that the Government has had some misconduct. Unlike the Microsoft Windows, Ubuntu does not demand the payment of licenses for its use. It is part of the Linux family, a free operating system created under the concept of open source, which can be changed by any person or company for free.
Now, though, Canonical wants to change the scenario: the goal is to take advantage of the installed base to make money. For that, the company opened an office in São Paulo and hired Mauricio Pretto, professional with 20 years of experience in the market of open source software. With a team of 15 people, Pretto has the mission of selling services, consulting and support for Ubuntu to the different spheres of the Government.
According to the Executive, Canonical will directly take over the conduction of the projects he closes with the public bodies. So far, the services have been rendered by the network of partners of the company in the country. According to Pretto, they are currently seven companies. That number may double until September. The idea, says the Executive, is not to leave the partners out, but create more business opportunities, with greater gains for the company and its allies.
Despite the governmental focus, the operation of Canonical in Brazil will also take care of the assistance to businesses and the relationship with computer manufacturers. The idea is to increase the number of machines sold with the system pre-installed in them. In the assessment of Pretto, the initiative, which has already been tried without success in the past may work out now because of the local presence of the company.
Founded in 2004, Canonical estimates it has 20 million users of the Ubuntu in the world. In the calculation are businesses, governments and residential customers who download the system over the internet or install it through CDs and USB drives. According to the Executive, the number may be even greater. That because Canonical does not require the people to inform they are using the system. The calculation of the number of users is made through internet traffic statistics and other sources.
Currently, the company is the strongest representative of Linux. While companies like Red Hat and Novell have turned their operation to the market of companies, Canonical has directed its efforts to the spread of the use of the Ubuntu. In the next four years, says Pretto, the goal is to multiply by 10 the number of users, or 200 million worldwide. To get there, the company has invested in changes in the look of the system (one of the most common criticisms made to Linux) and in the creation of services like the Ubuntu One. According to it, whenever you install the Ubuntu, the user gains 2 gigabytes of space to store his/her files in the computers of Canonical. The offer is also a source of potential earnings for the company: those interested can pay to have their space increased.