Linux distributor Red Hat is to ship its Red Hat Technical Workstation product in the second quarter of next year. The software will be aimed at enterprise desktop systems, and could attract interest from firms looking for an alternative to Windows in the wake of Microsoft's new licensing policies.

Linux has been growing in importance in the enterprise server arena over the past couple of years, but has so far failed to make much impact on the desktop. However, new developments may change this. Linux vendor Suse last month announced that its Linux Office Desktop and Linux Enterprise Desktop products will be released early next year.

Red Hat, as the largest supplier of Linux solutions, is well placed to meet demand for desktop products. "The natural next step in our enterprise roadmap is to create a stable, high-performance workstation solution to complement Red Hat Linux Advanced Server," said Paul Cormier, Red Hat's executive vice president of engineering.

Red Hat said that its Technical Workstation would be 100 percent compatible with Red Hat Linux Advanced Server, which would simplify the task of deploying enterprise-wide Linux solutions. This compatibility would result in reduced costs through faster deployments, common application support, and easier system administration, according to the firm. It added that Technical Workstation would be an ideal environment for developing applications to be deployed on Red Hat Linux Advanced Server.

Corporate PCs predominantly run Windows, but many IT buyers have been angered by Microsoft's new licensing scheme with its annual subscription fees per seat, which in many cases will increase desktop running costs. However, any move to Linux is likely to be slowed by the need to retrain staff who are currently more familiar with Microsoft operating systems.

Pricing for Red Hat Technical Workstation has yet to be announced.

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