How To Ensure Business Continuity — Even Across Multiple Distributions — With Linux Support

In June 2024, CentOS reached its end of life (EOL). For two decades, it had been a staple for companies that appreciated its security and its RHEL compatibility. However, now that it’s reached its EOL, companies are wondering whether they should migrate to a new operating system (OS). Migrating to a new OS is complicated, as system downtime can lead to lost revenue and productivity, risking damage to companies’ reputation.

For end of life Linux distributions like CentOS, there is another option. Rather than moving to a new OS, companies can avoid service interruptions and ensure continued performance with Linux support provided by a trusted vendor. SUSE Multi-Linux Support provides support for your CentOS distributions without requiring a migration. 

To fully take advantage of your Linux instance’s capabilities, invest in support services to make sure your cloud infrastructure and mission-critical applications are secure and receive patches regularly. Here’s why reliable Linux support is essential for ensuring business continuity.

The Benefits of Multi-Linux Support 

It’s tough to manage heterogeneous IT environments. Companies often deal with complexities such as multiple Linux distros, skills gaps on internal teams, difficult integrations of emerging technologies, and other challenges. 

SUSE Multi-Linux Support mitigates the challenges of heterogeneous IT environments and offers proactive maintenance. Proactive patching protects EOL distributions like CentOS, keeping your workloads secure and up-to-date. This cuts down on downtime and minimizes the impact on your company’s operations.

With the right support solutions in place you remain in control of choices that align with your business goals while ensuring stability, security and flexibility.

The Impact of Downtime on Business Operations

 Support for all of your Linux distributions — including free and enterprise distros — is crucial for business continuity and reducing the negative impact of downtime. In addition to the revenue loss, Forbes points out that there are other costs to downtime: downtime has a reputational cost and can damage a company’s image, leading to a loss of customer satisfaction and industry competitiveness.

Think of enterprise Linux support as a sort of insurance policy keeping you safe. Linux customer support services are a safeguard that minimizes downtime and protects the business from operational disruptions and PR crises.

The Faster the Response, The Less Risk You Have

 Linux support services ensure that you get a rapid response to system issues, reducing the time needed to identify and fix problems. The longer an issue persists, the worse it gets, and the more systems the issue affects. A lack of fast support can lead to extended downtimes across your organization. 

Companies that benefit from professional Linux IT support don’t have to worry about extended downtimes. For example, LOT Polish Airlines added SUSE Multi-Linux Support and in addition to a 50% savings on subscription costs, the company specified that fast support led to quicker issue resolutions. 

“The speed of access to local language support helps us diagnose and resolve potential issues much faster. In our safety-critical industry, this is an important benefit,” said Marek Truszkowski, IT Systems Administrator at LOT Polish Airlines.

Reducing the Burden on Internal IT Teams

By outsourcing customer support with a multi-Linux support vendor, IT teams no longer have to focus on day-to-day troubleshooting and can instead focus on innovation and business growth. 

It’s a financial win for the company too. Leveraging Linux customer support reduces internal overhead because companies no longer need to have large in-house teams. By relying on external Linux IT support, companies still gain expert-level service without the high costs.

Invest in Better Security and Compliance with Linux Support for Multiple Distributions

Linux support from a trusted vendor is a smart way to ensure business continuity for your organization. By proactively implementing security measures, Linux customer support helps enterprises stay ahead of security threats by applying patches and updates quickly and by keeping your systems compliant. Professional Linux support ensures compliance with regulations that require reliable, secure IT operations — a must for specific industries that deal with sensitive data.

To ensure business continuity for your organization, choose SUSE Multi-Linux Support (previously SUSE Liberty Linux) to support your entire Linux estate. We manage the complexity of all your distributions and make sure each one is running smoothly so you can focus on your business-specific priorities. To learn more about this no-migration support offering, read more about SUSE Multi-Linux Support.