Linux Foundation Welcomes Members from Android, Embedded and Cloud Communities

Six new members to contribute to advancement of Linux

SAN FRANCISCO, February 19, 2013 –The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux, today announced that BORQS, Denx, Gazzang, Genymobile, Mandriva and Seneca College are joining the organization.

Linux and collaborative development have become pervasive in the mobile and enterprise computing markets. There are more than 1.3 million Linux-based Android devices activated every day, and a global ecosystem of companies is investing more than ever in Linux and embedded Linux to support the growth of Android. Many of The Linux Foundation members focused in this area will attend and participate this week at the Android Builders Summit and Embedded Linux Conference in San Francisco.

Linux is also providing both the foundation for the cloud and a blueprint for collaborative development that will enable an open cloud. In a recent survey conducted by IDC, 94 percent of IT users said that collaboration and a vibrant open source ecosystem are important for cloud adoption. Two of today’s new members – Gazzang and Mandriva – are joining The Linux Foundation to maximize their investments and contributions in this area.

Seneca College also joins today as an education affiliate.

More information about today’s newest Linux Foundation members:

BORQS is a leader in Android-based services and software and is one of the early members of Open Handset Alliance (OHA). It works with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to provide a complete platform solution that can be launched across Global Carrier networks, with chipset providers to build a reference platform and with carriers to create custom, Android-based solutions supported by BORQS powered cloud-based back-end platform. BORQS has offices in Beijing, Bangalore, Wuhan and Shenzhen. It will participate in the Code Aurora Forum, among other activities at The Linux Foundation.

“The Linux Foundation hosts important collaboration in the Android and embedded development space, and we’re interested in being a part of that work,” said Hareesh Ramanna, VP Engineering, BORQS. “We’re looking forward to working with other Code Aurora Forum members and increasing innovation in the area of Android development.”

Denx is a software engineering firm specializing in the area of embedded and real-time systems built with Linux and open source software. The company offers a powerful Embedded Linux Development Kit including seamless integration of the Xenomai real-time framework capable of emulating proprietary RTOS. Its co-founder, Wolfgang Denk, is a long-time contributor to the Linux and open source communities and one of the creators of U-Boot.

“Linux is driving innovation in the industrial and embedded development space, and efforts like Yocto Project are helping to share the tedious common tasks and free resources for the exciting and differentiating parts in a product,” said Detlev Zundel, Managing Director, Denx. “We know that by joining The Linux Foundation, we’re maximizing our investments in Linux and open source development for our business and that can benefit the community and our customers.”

Gazzang provides Linux data security solutions and operational diagnostics that help enterprises protect sensitive information and maintain performance in big data and cloud environments. The company’s solutions secure big data on any application or database that runs on Linux and provides high-performance monitoring, alerting and analysis of cloud environments.

“Linux supports the biggest enterprise environments with the most advanced technical requirements. Our focus is on helping these enterprises achieve regulatory compliance and protect sensitive customer information by encrypting and securing their sensitive data. A secure Linux environment is vital to enterprise adoption of big data and the cloud,” said Dustin Kirkland, chief technology officer at Gazzang.

Genymobile is the world-leading company behind professional solutions such as custom Android distributions and Android virtualization and provisioning tools. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in France, it also develops and maintains applications for Android-based systems.

“The Linux Foundation offers a variety of collaboration opportunities that will help us advance our work on Android,” said Cedric Ravalec, CEO, Genymobile. “We are looking forward to attending Android Builders Summit as silver partner and contributing to workgroups such as Code Aurora Forum.”

Mandriva is a Linux distribution originally launched in 1998. Today it offers a variety of products ranging from Mandriva Business Server to Pulse2 and CloudPulse. With a renewed focus on the enterprise user, Mandriva is poised to address new requirements for cloud and big data. 

“The Linux Foundation works with the world’s largest enterprise Linux users to understand their technical requirements, and we’re looking forward to participating in those discussions and contributing to the community,” said Charles-H. Schulz, open source relations manager & marketing director, Mandriva S.A.

Seneca College is joining as The Linux Foundation’s fourth educational affiliate and first Canadian postsecondary institution. Based in Toronto, Canada, Seneca College is a world leader in open source software education and applied research.

“Linux is at the heart of several applied research projects in our Centre for Development of Open Technology, including our work on Linux on ARM computers,” said Chris Tyler, Industrial Research Chair, Open Source Technology for Emerging Platforms at Seneca College. ”Our affiliation with The Linux Foundation reinforces our commitment to the advancement of this technology and to keeping our students at the forefront of software development.”

“We are inspired by these new commitments to Linux and The Linux Foundation,” said Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer services at The Linux Foundation. “It is the ongoing support of our members that helps to advance, promote and protect Linux and support collaborative development.”

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux. Founded in 2000, the organization sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and promotes, protects and advances the Linux operating system by marshaling the resources of its members and the open source development community. The Linux Foundation provides a neutral forum for collaboration and education by hosting Linux conferences, including LinuxCon, and generating original Linux research, Linux videos and content that advances the understanding of the Linux platform. Its web properties, including Linux.com, reach approximately two million people per month. The organization also provides extensive Linux training opportunities that feature the Linux kernel community’s leading experts as instructors. Follow The Linux Foundation on Twitter.

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 Trademarks: The Linux Foundation, Linux Standard Base, MeeGo, Tizen and Yocto Project are trademarks of The Linux Foundation. Linux is a trademark of Linus Torvalds.