Last week, SUSE hosted SUSECON 25 in Orlando, Florida. Although SUSE has been in the open-source game for decades, it’s been getting increased attention with some seasoned leadership coming from competitor Red Hat, its acquisition of much-loved Rancher, and changing expectations/norms in the open-source ecosystem.

SUSE’s big message started with a commitment to Linux, open-source innovation, and choice. CEO Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen presented awards to 12 different customers emphasizing broad enterprise reach. The company also revealed a rebranded portfolio focused on four key platforms: Linux, cloud-native, edge, and AI. Notable rebrands include SUSE Rancher (Kubernetes management), SUSE Storage (formerly Longhorn), SUSE Virtualization (formerly Harvester), and SUSE Multi-Linux Support (formerly Liberty Linux). These changes aim to simplify navigation and address market need. The big changes announced include:

  • Linux support. Firms operating multiple distributions of Linux in production must address Linux support issues, especially when maintenance or support has lapsed. SUSE’s rebranded Multi-Linux Support (formerly Liberty Linux) offers lifecycle management for legacy systems, providing flexibility without forced licensing changes. This package enables lifecycle management of legacy systems, offering flexible migration options according to business timelines rather than a vendor-imposed deadline. SUSE also touted deep expertise in integrating Linux across various platforms with support for customized use cases like telco and manufacturing.
  • Cloud-native workload support. SUSE is poised to support composable multicloud platforms across cloud environments, data centers, and the edge (given the SUSE-backed K3s Kubernetes base). The rebranded SUSE Observability (formerly StackState) enhances operations by tracking application states and addressing anomalies via SUSE Rancher. Notably, SUSE Rancher now manages AWS EKS workloads directly. Coupled with the embedding of Neuvector as a container-focused security solution, Rancher has emerged as a converged platform for holistic container application operations.
  • Edge computing. SUSE Edge, a cloud-native platform that manages edge devices at scale, interfaces with various network options and ensures management and security. The Edge Image Builder open-source project customizes SL Micro base configuration images to address network complexities including low-bandwidth or fully air-gapped environments. SUSE Edge is tailored for telecom, retail, and industrial firms.
  • AI and edge intelligence. AI-enabled edge intelligence drives localized experiences with streaming analytics, edge ML, and real-time data management. The new SUSE AI platform supports secure deployment of AI models with observability, security guardrails, and agentic AI capabilities in industrial, retail, and healthcare, which addresses only a subset of the broader edge AI market.

SUSE Is Keen To Make A Move

As we look to 2025, SUSE has new opportunities to transition from its perception in the market as an important but low-profile provider of several solid IT infrastructure offerings into an enterprise IT platform vendor that gets more visibility among C-level enterprise IT leaders. That’s no easy task in an IT world dominated by multitrillion dollar hyperscalers. However, the generative AI shakeup of the tech landscape has prompted a rethink of IT strategy in big companies and government agencies. SUSE therefore has an opportunity to expand its customer, partner, and product reach among strategic enterprise technology and infrastructure decision-makers. How can the company execute on this vision? Forrester believes that to do this effectively, SUSE must make more traction in North America via its AI capabilities, up-level positioning to more senior executives, and go all in on the open-source AI ecosystem opportunity.

Why It Matters: You Need Flexible, Holistic Tech Platforms

Enterprise technology systems are evolving into layered platforms. That doesn’t come without cost, maintenance, or risk, which must be managed over time to address the changing needs of the business. It’s called platform engineering, and it’s the main enterprise standard. Yet, many platform providers haven’t adjusted to this way of working. SUSE’s latest efforts do. SUSE’s realignment and messaging taps into the platform-oriented model and makes a promise to improve those platforms over time to match customer needs, while avoiding the introduction of prescriptive frameworks that limit choice. That’s a good thing; it’s moving in the right direction as a product company.

Most businesses are being blindsided by the rapid iteration of AI, disruptions resulting from geopolitical unrest, and core vendor strategy changes. In the face of uncertainty, SUSE’s message of technology choice and autonomy should resonate. Expect similar language from its competition over the course of the year.

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