MontaVista buys two UK Companies

MontaVista has bought two UK-based companies in a move that strengthens its ability to meet exploding demand in Europe for commercial Linux products and services and a close affiliate of MontaVista Limited. The increase in the European sales and services team will help to maintain MontaVista's dominant share of the commercial Linux market as demand for the open-source OS explodes across nearly every sector of the embedded market. The entire sales and services delivery staff of both MontaVista Limited and Liberte have become full-time MontaVista Software employees. Russell Harris, Executive Vice-President of World Wide Field Operations at MontaVista Software, said: 'Customers are clamouring for access to scarce kernel-level expertise in real-time Linux, and the acquisition of Liberte and MontaVista Limited expands our experience and capabilities to provide the services and support they need. 'From the handset to telecoms infrastructure to connected consumer devices, Linux is becoming the platform of choice in place of outdated, limited-function RTOSs. The growth in the embedded Linux market in Europe is phenomenal, and MontaVista Software is now extremely well placed to serve that demand.' The MontaVista Limited and Liberte units, which will now carry the MontaVista Software name, will provide sales support and consulting services to electronic design customers and partners for the entire EMEA region, helping them to customise Linux and to implement new software platforms that use the open-source OS. Ian Graham, former head of both organisations and now European Director of Professional Services for MontaVista Software, said: 'The transition into MontaVista has been seamless for our customers, employees and partners. With the increase in EMEA capability and focus, we are now well positioned to address the growing demand for the embedded Linux OS and value-added services.'