Mandriva Korea (MetaNav) begins operations in order to offer Mandriva Linux solutions to organizations and people all over South Korea and the East Asia area.
Recent studies show that about 37% of servers in Korean government offices ran Linux-based operating systems in 2006 and annual usage growth is estimated to be over 10% for upcoming years. In 2007, the Korean government plans to switch to open source alternatives on a substantial number of its PCs and servers, and support the open source initiative.
Mandriva, the global Linux distributor, selected MetaNav to become its official local representative in this fast growing technological environment in Asia. Mandriva and MetaNav reached an agreement to work together and co-develop open source products and services closely adapted to the East Asian market.
To achieve this goal, Mandriva Korea outlined a strategy based on three key actions:
* Co-development of an enhanced Mandriva Linux customized for the Asian market;
* Offering training and support for organizations, people and associates in Asian region;
* Making Mandriva products available through local OEMs and VARs.
This approach will provide IT assets to companies, government entities and individuals who may benefit from Mandriva Linux-based tools, the availability of skilled local support and high quality training.
This announcement comes right after the release of Mandriva Linux 2007 Spring, Mandriva Flash 4GB and Corporate Desktop 4.0 as a reinforcement of Mandriva's and MetaNav's commitment to the East Asian open source community.
"Open source is booming in East Asia, and in Korea in particular. Mandriva will work in close collaboration with MetaNav to provide Mandriva Linux solutions to Korean people, and we are looking forward to taking part in this transition process," said Gaurav Parakh, Mandriva Partnership Manager.