Mandriva Strikes A Deal with HP

Mandriva, formerly known as Mandrakesoft, one of the first publishers of desktop Linux distributions announced a partnership with HP to distribute Linux computers to 37 countries in Latin America.

As part of the agreement, Mandriva Linux 2006 has been certified for HP machines and Mandriva named the "Preferred Linux Partner for Latin America". The companies will work together on sales, support and marketing in all Latin American territories, including Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. At the time nine HP notebooks, eight desktops and eight ProLiant servers have been certified for Mandriva.

According to a Mandriva representative, the first machines have already begun shipping to Brazil, one targeted to the consumer market and one for the enterprise, although many different models will be available in those 37 countries.

"HP has worked successfully with Mandriva on several products in the past. This new agreement marks our continued confidence in Mandriva", said Sherry Elrod Manzano, Head of the Personal Solution Center Latin America for HP.

In an email to desktoplinux.com, Mandriva CEO François Bancilhon gave several reasons why this deal is significant to the Linux world market:
"It shows that a leading player such as HP is: (1) betting on Linux; (2) betting on Linux on the desktop; (3) and betting on the BRIC market (Brazil, Russia, India, China). We believe desktop migrations and the BRIC market are two of the key driving forces for the worldwide Linux market."