When we launched WorksWithU in 2008, I strongly believed Canonical needed to build strong server hardware partnerships with Dell, IBM and Hewlett-Packard. But as I heard more about Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud (UEC) in 2009, I realized Ubuntu in 2010 may find a back door into the server market. Here’s why.

Ubuntu developers recently began discussing plans for deploying virtual appliances via Debian packages, a move which would open up exciting opportunities, especially in the server market.  Here’s the scope, with some thoughts.

WorksWithU sat down with Canonical’s John Pugh to discuss his Ubuntu Server Edition 10.04 (Lucid Lynx) priorities, ISV (independent software vendor) relationships and Ubuntu cloud initiatives.

More than 600 people registered to attend Atlanta Linux Fest, which was held Sept. 19. Many of the standing-room-only sessions focused on Canonical and Ubuntu. Here are nine Ubuntu-oriented highlights from the event.

Cloud computing, the latest and greatest trend of the IT world, has become a central element of Ubuntu’s server strategy.  With this development in mind, I’ve given some thought lately to how much of my electronic life actually depends on access to “the cloud.”

After placing its bets for years on Xen, Red Hat moved recently towards official support for KVM, the virtualization hypervisor built into the Linux kernel.  Here’s a look at what this change might mean for Ubuntu, which has promoted KVM from the beginning.

Ubuntu has a clearly stated mission: to select the best components from open source, to assemble and refine them, to encourage ecosystem development and to provide the best possible experience to our users while avoiding lock-in and the creation of monopolies. Our cloud strategy follows this same mission.

Canonical’s Ubuntu Server Edition is finally showing some ISV (independent software vendor) momentum. The latest two examples involve Openbravo and Alfresco. Here’s the news and a bigger picture look at Canonical’s attempt to compete against Windows Server, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell SUSE Linux on the server.

Just when I was getting a little worried about Ubuntu Server Edition’s ISV (independent software vendor) support, I received a heads up from John Pugh, software partner manager at Canonical. The timely news involved some Ubuntu-Alfresco developments. Here’s the scoop. And more importantly, here are some bigger-picture thoughts about Canonical’s ISV efforts on the server.

There’s no question that Ubuntu dominates the desktop-Linux world.  With commanding market share and a huge user community, it’s by far the most well supported and documented open-source platform in the desktop world.  On servers, however, the situation is different–and Canonical needs to address it if it wants to become a real player in the server market.