by Cate C. Corcoran

	Developing for Linux since 1994, Perens is a founding father of - and celebrated provocateur in - the open source community.

Since the early 1990s, Linux has steadily gathered fame and adherents through its promise of flexible, open software with incredible cost benefits. But as technology providers have lined up to proclaim their Linux credentials, it's been easy to overlook one fact: Saying that you embrace open source is one thing; delivering on that promise is another.

At Hewlett-Packard, the commitment to Linux and open source has been marked by two goals: to deliver reliable solutions to customers across a range of products and to be a good open-source citizen. In both instances, HP and its Linux Systems Operation group have been helped by the guidance of Linux luminary Bruce Perens.

Developing for Linux since 1994, Perens is a founding father of - and celebrated provocateur in - the open source community. He led the Debian Project, a volunteer effort to create a distribution of Linux based on open-source software, and helped write the Debian Free Software Guidelines, which later became the Open Source Definition. To the dispersed, free-form development community, this document defined what open source software is and how it is distributed.

Perens has held a variety of roles in open source-related ventures - including CEO of Linux Capital Group - since leaving his programming job at Pixar Animation Studios to focus on Linux. And as a high-profile advocate for Linux, he's been vocal in the dynamic discussions that have accompanied open source's rise to prominence.

In December 2000, Perens joined HP's staff in the unique role of senior global strategist for Linux, helping HP with the groundbreaking project of integrating the free, grassroots Linux operating system with its products. Perens had considered taking his Linux evangelism to other technology powerhouses, but he quickly saw that HP was the top choice. "HP was the best match because its lines are so broad," he says. "They can integrate Linux into printers, PCs, all the way up to the Superdome servers."

Perens' assignment at HP is twofold: to spread the gospel of open source software to HP divisions - from home printers to enterprise servers - while demonstrating to the ever-growing open source developer community HP's commitment to being a good partner in the support and adoption of open source software.

choice is the key

This first mission is at the heart of HP's Linux strategy: to give customers a range of choices that includes Linux across varied product lines, from servers to mobile devices. In evangelizing Linux, Perens emphasizes that what is exciting about the operating system is not just that it's the product of a new paradigm in software development but that it works in the real world.

"HP can advise customers on when it's the right time, the right place and right job for Linux."

"Linux filled a need that was not being served," Perens says, recalling how Linux got its original base of users. Linux was powerful, reliable and inexpensive, but the key was that its open source nature offered users more control than other environments did. Users could change any part of the system to suit their own needs and share the changes with others who had similar needs. This fueled the expansion of the user community and the corresponding expansion of the software itself.

Martin Fink, general manager of HP Linux Systems Operation, explains why Linux is such an important part of HP's business: "Our customers had already started to install Linux on their own, and they liked it. They asked HP for formal Linux support. HP responded with systems certified to run Linux, with full support for Linux and with factory preloads of Linux on new systems." He adds, "Open source and Linux give us the opportunity to build and maintain the software infrastructure in a collaborative, low-cost way. That allows us to move our resources into the areas above infrastructure that differentiate HP and provide customer solutions."

Cost saving, Perens says, is one aspect of Linux for which customers need no introduction. "The best message I can bring customers is that this stuff makes economic sense. Here's HP that's going to take this hacker product that is low-cost and powerful and give you all the services you're used to from an OS vendor."

That combination of flexibility and stability is at the heart of HP's strategy. What HP offers to its customers is Linux they can trust. HP offers three operating systems: HP-UX, Microsoft Windows and Linux. HP can advise customers on when it's the right time, the right place and right job for Linux.

working with the community

Perens is key to shaping HP's Linux strategy. But his other role, that of liaison to the community of individual developers who create and constantly improve Linux and other open source software, is equally vital. Fink explains: "When you have a community of thousands of engineers [working together on software], you get high quality and low cost. But you have to contribute. You have to give as well as take."

"Open source and Linux give us the opportunity to build and maintain the software infrastructure in a collaborative, low-cost way."

To that end, one of the first projects Perens worked on was making HP printers work with PCs running the Linux operating system. The message he got from the community was, he says, "I'll take you seriously when you support Linux on your printers." And while he hastens to say that he can't take credit for that effort, which was already under way when he joined HP, Perens did help it cross the finish line by communicating its real and symbolic importance.

More recently, Perens has been involved in HP's launch of Coolbase - a software development platform for creating e-services that will connect people and their environment seamlessly and pervasively. HP debuted Coolbase and announced it was releasing its software code at the O'Reilly Open Source Convention in July 2001.

"This community has a real quid pro quo attached to it," Perens says. "You don't just take from it, you have to give, too. Otherwise, no one's going to help you. They'll help your competitor instead."

And Perens is keeping that in mind as he composes HP's open source manual - guidelines for working with open source products and developing open source solutions. He rattles off the basics: "A good open source approach has to include working with the community of developers and considering the open source license you're using. It must support trust and collaboration. Some software won't work with open source because it's not complete enough. Good open source software should be immediately usable and have things people want to add."

At the heart of Perens' work with HP - as well as at the heart of the open source movement - is a passion that fuels progress and collaboration. "No one finds it surprising that artists paint their paintings for love. And the same [is true] about singers," he says. "Computer programming is at least as much art as it is science or engineering. When we write a good program, we feel the same kind of artistic satisfaction as an artist does."