566% ROI Has Hardware Vendors Jumping on the Software Appliance Bandwagon

Independent software vendors (ISVs) are aggressively investing in software appliances and the tools to build them more efficiently. That’s because the software appliance market is forecast to break the $1 billion threshold by 2011 and grow to $3.7 billion by 2014.* IDC attributes this fast growth to the fact that software appliances reduce acquisition costs and increase operational efficiencies thanks to zero integration and simplified management.* I suggest you check out this new IDC paper.

Novell is helping enable this growth with our SUSE Appliance Program. It’s a key component of Novell’s strategy to lead the rapidly emerging intelligent workload management market. Built on the SUSE Linux Enterprise platform, the SUSE Appliance Program is transforming the way software vendors package and distribute software offerings that can run on physical, virtual and cloud computing environments, shorten sales cycles and pursue new markets.

In fact, in a study of five ISVs participating in the SUSE Appliance Program, IDC found that, with minimal investment, these ISVs recognized an average ROI of 566 percent! That’s right, 556 percent and an average payback of less than seven months:*

• - A more efficient development platform enabled these ISVs to deliver new applications in 68 percent less time and at 62 percent lower cost on average.*
• - By simplifying proofs of concept, getting to market quicker, reaching new customers and improving close rates, their revenues grew 14 percent.*

Program members gain access to specialized pricing, redistribution agreements, certification and support programs.

Building Hardware and Software Appliances

One of the newest companies to join the SUSE Appliance Program is Dell. Dell’s internal development teams are standardizing on SUSE Linux to build, deploy and maintain its entire family of Dell-branded virtual and hardware-based appliances. According to Sally Stevens, vice president of Platform Marketing at Dell, “We selected Novell because they provided an easy way for us to package and deliver software appliances.”

Software appliances are a major component of the WorkloadIQ approach, allowing ISVs, customers and service providers—and even traditional hardware manufacturers—to quickly build preconfigured, optimized workloads that run everywhere. And that type of versatility delivers incredible value.

–Richard

* The Return on Investment of SUSE-powered Software Appliances from Novell. IDC white paper. January 2011.