WALTHAM, USA: Novell has announced overwhelming support for the SUSE Appliance Program, the first, complete solution that enables Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to rapidly build, update, configure and go-to-market with fully-supported software and virtual appliances.

Appliances are transforming the way ISVs market and package software as they simplify the installation and configuration of software, eliminating unexpected costs and making the sales process frictionless.

Since the launch one month ago, more than 2,000 ISVs have signed up for the SUSE Appliance Program and thousands of people have registered for SUSE Studio Online, the Program’s free, Web-based tool that builds complete software appliances in a matter of minutes said the release.

"The SUSE Appliance Program is quickly delivering on our promise to transform the way that ISVs deliver software to their customers" said Markus Rex, senior vice president and general manager of Open Platform Solutions at Novell.

"We’re thrilled by the enthusiastic reception SUSE Studio Online has received from ISVs, developers, channel partners and customers. The SUSE Appliance Program will fundamentally shift the paradigm of software deployment by making it easy to build, manage and sell software appliances to create a better software experience for customers," added Rex.

SUSE Studio Online allows for mass customization, enabling each ISV to build a unique configuration of the operating system that is fully supported by Novell. The SUSE Appliance Program enables ISVs to create one integrated stack for their application, and then seamlessly deploy that stack across physical, virtual and cloud environments.