Ubuntu, the fastest-growing version of Linux, is starting to attract interest from the managed services industry. One prime example: Untangle, which develops security solutions for managed service providers, is preparing to add support for Ubuntu within the next few months, MSPmentor has learned.

In an effort to rally solutions providers around Ubuntu Linux, Canonical is telling resellers that 11 percent of U.S. businesses already run Ubuntu. That’s impressive, but when will VARs truly jump on the Ubuntu bandwagon? Here are some clues from The VAR Guy.

After a business trip to China, the ZaReason team is back in the US preparing to offer Ubuntu 9.04 on PCs and laptops the day Canonical's latest Linux distribution launches. But that's not all: ZaReason is preparing to expand its Ubuntu server lineup. Here are the early details, based on an email interview with ZaReason CTO Earl Malmrose.

During the Autotask Community Live conference - which attracted roughly 300 managed service providers - Ubuntu Server Edition made a surprise appearance and a surprise encore. Twice during the event, managed service providers (MSPs) told me how they were building their businesses on top of Ubuntu Server Edition. The two prime examples involve Rezitech and Network Depot. Here’s the scoop.

For the second time in recent days, a major SaaS software company says it’s introducing tools to remotely manage Linux devices. Suddenly, VARs and managed service providers seem to be jumping on the Linux remote management bandwagon. Here’s why.

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, is getting serious about the server. The company is working hard to partner with 3rd party server application providers, and to develop the required core OS services for Ubuntu to make it a highly successful business server platform. There are many factors that make Ubuntu a strong server platform, but the top 5 are...

Novell BrainShare started March 21 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The company is gradually winning back channel partners like VARs and systems integrators, thanks to SUSE Linux. But so far, Novell doesn't seem to have a compelling story for the fastest growing portion of the channel -- managed services providers (MSPs). The big question: Do MSPs care about Novell?

It's another small step for Canonical's Ubuntu business, and a giant leap forward for the company's Landscape management platform. The new Landscape 1.3 release allows IT managers and resellers to remotely administer physical or virtual servers within a corporate network or on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). But this is more than a technology story.

When Canonical launched Landscape 1.5 this week, it was a timely reminder that the software company is trying to develop multiple revenue streams beyond Ubuntu services. Moreover, Landscape 1.5 represents Canonical's latest attempt to make Ubuntu easier for businesses and solutions providers to remotely manage. Here's a closer look at the Landscape strategy.