SUSE has completed its move from Micro Focus to EQT, a growth investor firm. As the focus is shifting towards moving up in the stack, towards the cloud, there is a consolidation happening in the market. While Red Hat has become a unit of IBM, SUSE is heading towards becoming an independent entity.

Many would argue that post-IBM acquisition of Red Hat, SUSE has become the ‘biggest’ Linux vendor. While Linux is still the core of SUSE business, the company has built a massive portfolio of emerging technologies like cloud, containers, and IoT.

“Current IT trends make it clear that open source has become more important in the enterprise than ever before," said SUSE CEO Nils Brauckmann. “Our genuinely open, open source solutions, flexible business practices, lack of enforced vendor lock-in and exceptional service are more critical to customer and partner organizations, and our independence coincides with our single-minded focus on delivering what is best for them."

To continue its momentum, SUSE has expanded its executive team. Enrica Angelone has become the new chief financial officer, and Sander Huyts is SUSE's new chief operations officer. Thomas Di Giacomo, formerly chief technology officer for SUSE, is now president of Engineering, Product and Innovation.

The company believes that EQT's backing and SUSE's independent status will enable the company's continued expansion as advanced innovation drives growth in SUSE's core business as well as in emerging technologies, both organically and through add-on acquisitions.