Red Hat a No-show at LinuxWorld

Words used by attendees to describe the absence of Linux open source computer company Red Hat from the recent LinuxWorld Conference & Expo/San Francisco tell their own story: Shocked. Puzzled. Surprised. Disappointed.

"Red Hat is really the biggest company in the Linux business, and a lot of people asked why they weren't there," said Steven J. Vaughan Nichols, Ziff Davis Internet Linux and open source editor. "It's like Microsoft not showing up at a Windows show."

David Korse, CEO of the show's management company, IDG World Expo, downplayed the comparison, but added, "We were disappointed they weren't there."

The show was held in San Francisco's Moscone Center Aug. 14–17.

David Burney, vice president of corporate communications at Red Hat, said the company chose not to exhibit because it had "found that more direct methods of communication and engagement beyond LinuxWorld, including seminars, Red Hat Summit and other focused events, help us to connect in more meaningful ways with the Linux community and our customers."

To put attendee reactions to Red Hat's no-show at LinuxWorld into perspective, it's important to understand the spirit of the open source world that Red Hat is part of. Vaughn-Nichols said open source "is a kind of software development where anyone can look at the source language and add to it."

"Linux is a community, and LinuxWorld is a block party, and it's like Red Hat is sitting at home not wanting to come outside," said Anthony Johnson, president and CEO of Storix, a disaster recovery software company designed specifically for Linux systems.

Johnson said his company, a member of the Red Hat Partner Program, has exhibited at LinuxWorld for four years and was "surprised" to not see Red Hat at the last show.

"My first reaction not seeing them there was that they were gone," Johnson said. "A lot of companies tend to disappear because of finances, but they're definitely still around."

Red Hat reported $278 million in sales last year.

The inaugural LinuxWorld was held in San Jose, Calif., in 1999. The semiannual show has since grown to an average of 45,000 net square feet, 220 exhibitors and more than 6,000 attendees. Besides the Northern California edition, there are other versions of the show in 19 countries worldwide.

Red Hat has exhibited at LinuxWorld since its inception, typically with between 1,200 and 2,500 sq. ft. of exhibit space.

"They are one of our bellwether exhibitors and one of two primary distributors for Linux," Korse said. "They are obviously an important part of it, but they are not the entire show."

He noted that among those exhibiting at the show were Red Hat's main competitor, SUSE, as well as Novell, IBM, Oracle and Hewlett-Packard. There were also three new major exhibitors this year: Nokia, PalmSource and Motorola.

"That was a very big deal for us," Korse said. "The 2006 show was the biggest we've had so far, with a 10-percent increase in conference attendance alone."

Red Hat has not signed on for any more LinuxWorld shows, in either the United States or overseas.

"We hope Red Hat comes back," Korse said, "but we will continue to have a show."

Red Hat may have already moved on.

"We're a company based on delivering good value to our customers, and we demand great value from the investments we make," Burney said. "There are countless ways for us to invest our resources. We're convinced there are better options for Red Hat than LinuxWorld."

Vaughan-Nichols pointed out that "tradeshows are expensive propositions, and (Red Hat) probably wanted to get more bang for their buck."

"If I'm the dominant player, why would I spend money to talk to the converted?" he asked.

Red Hat did start its own conference, the Red Hat Summit, last year in New Orleans and followed that up with another one this June in Nashville, Tenn.

"At its heart, the Red Hat Summit is simply an opportunity for us to connect with people who are interested in open source issues," Burney said. "We're able to offer access to some of the leading figures in open source development directly and informally to the attendees."

Even though Red Hat wasn't physically at the show, it was in town.

"We value our relationships with our customers and partners and knew that many of them would be attending the week's activities," said Caroline E. Kazmierski, Red Hat's spokeswoman. "We took this opportunity to meet with and engage with our customers and partners by hosting a cocktail reception Aug. 16 in the San Francisco area."

Red Hat's nonprofit open source project, the Fedora Project, did have a booth in the dot-org section.

Vaughan-Nichols said many people on the showfloor felt Red Hat had "gotten too big for its britches."

"Everyone else was there," Korse said, "and we had a good show."