History

Mandriva was founded in 1998 by three young Linux enthusiasts: Jacques Le Marois, Gaël Duval and Frédéric Bastok. The original concept, retained today, was to bring Linux to the masses by making it simple. With this positioning, and a distribution agreement with a large U.S. retailer, the company’s Linux distribution quickly became a leader in many major markets.

During the Internet bubble (2000-2002), Mandriva received significant venture capital, but made strategic mistakes and ran into difficulties. A turn around phase was initiated by the current management team which led the company to profitability and growth in 2003-2004. Three acquisitions were completed in 2004-2005, positioning the company as a consolidator in the industry.

Mandriva: Key Company Attributes

Provides easy-to-use systems

Mandriva is widely recognized as the reference provider of easy-to-use Linux systems, whether on desktop or server architectures. This key differentiator is constantly strengthened through the integration of advanced user-friendly tools that allow customers to easily achieve tasks that are arduous in other systems.

Mandriva offers one of the smoothest and most automated installation procedures. It further integrates user-friendly security wizards, enabling users from any computing level to efficiently secure their computer.

Fully respects open source

Since its inception, Mandriva has been fully adhering to open source. The company develops its products using an open collaborative development process called Cooker, in which hundreds of developers around the globe interact with the company's engineers to define features, integrate new applications and test the final results of this collaboration. The Cooker development model enables thousands of people to scrutinize the source code of Mandriva’s products, thus ensuring a high level of quality and security.

As part of its commitment to open source, Mandriva publishes a free version of its operating system. Free Mandriva allows users to benefit from the result of the collaborative work of the Open Source Community, including volunteers from all around the world.

All of Mandriva's products are released under the General Public License, with source codes openly and freely accessible by everyone.

Supports interoperability and open standards

Mandriva’s products are based on open standards and all of them are highly interoperable. Customers can readily adapt Mandriva’s products to interact with systems and software from other vendors. Mandriva believes interoperability is an essential requirement for creating customer value. Interoperability enables individuals and corporations to have wider control on the use of their Information Technology assets.

Develops the most internationalized Linux system through communities and partnerships

Mandriva Linux is supported in more than 70 languages worldwide. The company has developed large communities based on the common loyalty to open source principles – including knowledge sharing and community help.

Mandriva has partnerships with several key companies involved with the Linux industry. Hewlett Packard is selling computers preloaded with Mandriva Linux in several countries around the world. Intel is ensuring the optimum combination of Mandriva Linux 2006 with Intel's server and desktop motherboards, as well as with Intel's advanced technologies such as Extended Memory 64-bit and the Centrino® mobile technology.

Participates actively in the consolidation of the Linux space.

Part of Mandriva's market progression has been based on external growth. Within the past two years, Mandriva has acquired Edge-IT in France, Conectiva in Brazil, and Lycoris in the United States.

Edge-It is a support and services company with corporate customers including: OECD, the world economic organization, and Prisma Presse, one of the top press groups in Europe. Mandriva acquired Edge-It in July 2004.

Conectiva, the number one Linux publisher in Latin America, has worked on ATM and teller solutions for financial institutions and infrastructure projects for the government, while also offering a complete range of Linux products sold through major retail stores in Brazil. With offices in Sao Paulo, Manaus and Curitiba, Conectiva has added significantly to Mandriva's expertise and customer portfolio, since the two companies merged in February 2005.

Lycoris is a North American company specializing in easy-to-use systems. The company pioneered such new technologies as Linux for Tablet and Pocket PCs. To strengthen its leadership on the Linux Desktop market, Mandriva acquired several assets of Lycoris in June 2005.

Strategic Initiatives

Compliance with the Linux Standard Base

The Linux Standard Base (LSB) is a set of common technical specifications defined by the Free Standards Group to ensure the interoperability between all major Linux distributions, thus easing the job for software and hardware vendors wishing to port their product to the Linux platform. Mandriva is a long time supporter of the Linux Standard Base and believes the LSB is crucial for Linux's widespread adoption. LSB provides integrators and editors with a common Linux platform towards which they can build, in the same way they build for the Windows platform.

A Large European Projects Provider

Mandriva is involved in several large multi-country, multi-competency European projects. The company is often selected in tenders because of its unique expertise and position as a global Linux publisher. Major projects include SINAPSE (secured CC-EAL5 operating system), EDOS (complex software development management) and Ucopia (advanced mobility).