{"id":638382,"date":"2026-04-07T10:01:40","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T08:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/?p=638382"},"modified":"2026-04-07T11:15:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T09:15:26","slug":"the-south-african-engineer-who-helped-build-a-linux-distribution-that-mark-shuttleworth-sold-to-bcx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/software\/638382-the-south-african-engineer-who-helped-build-a-linux-distribution-that-mark-shuttleworth-sold-to-bcx.html","title":{"rendered":"The South African engineer who helped build a Linux distribution that Mark Shuttleworth sold to BCX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ross Addis, a veteran engineer at Red Hat, was a central figure in the creation of Impi Linux, a promising variant of the open-source operating system sold to Business Connexion by Mark Shuttleworth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bryanston-born and raised, Addis joined the Gauteng Linux User Group (GLUG) in 1999 and soon became its chairman. He was working at Parktown Boys High School at the time, where he had matriculated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discussions about a South African distribution were a constant theme at GLUG, but finally became more than a pipe dream in 2001.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frustrated with only working on Windows at Parktown Boys High, Addis quit his job and joined MIP, a company specialising in insurance software, which is still around today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At MIP, he still had to work on Windows, but he was given significant latitude and support to pursue his Linux passion projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breakthrough for Impi Linux came when Addis teamed up with Francis Viviers and Andre Coetzee, the CEO of Cubit Accounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrancis built the first software that would become Impi Linux. He built an installer in PHP, as strange as that sounds,\u201d Addis told MyBroadband in a recent interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addis said they had asked themselves what a South African variant of Linux should include to set itself apart from other distributions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe asked, \u2018What local content could we do that would make it appealing to South Africans and make it easier?\u2019\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of the earliest versions of Impi Linux included drivers for the Sentech MyWireless modem. Sentech launched its fixed wireless access broadband service in 2004 to compete with Telkom\u2019s ADSL.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ADSL was the only residential broadband service at the time, and it had a restrictive 3GB monthly data cap. Sentech MyWireless was uncapped and cheaper, but didn\u2019t deliver the service levels it promised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Sentech MyWireless drivers, Addis said Impi also included Coetzee\u2019s Cubit Accounting package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Linux by any other name<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Impi Linux team at the Johannesburg LinuxWorld conference in 2005<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Regarding the name, Addis said that, as he remembered it, though other founders might disagree, he arrived at it by rearranging the letters of MIP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that MIP had been instrumental in Impi\u2019s initial success because the company had given him full access to its PR and marketing agency to promote it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This helped propel the distribution onto the international stage and differentiate it from other niche community projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, his Zulu friends joked about why they had named a Linux distribution \u201cWar Linux\u201d, when the open-source movement was about community and sharing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addis recalled that \u201cUbuntu\u201d was one of the names considered. However, Desmond Tutu constantly referenced the concept of ubuntu<\/em> in his talks at the time, and they didn\u2019t want to seem unoriginal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impi Linux gained momentum in 2005 when it was rebuilt from scratch, moving away from its Debian roots to become a fully independent distribution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe 2005 release was written from scratch. No Debian, nothing. It was Linux from scratch. That\u2019s what Francis mainly did,\u201d Addis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was also when they made their first sale. To the well-known book store chain Exclusive Books, no less, for an operating system to power its point of sale systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addis said Exclusives was seeking a stable, secure Linux to replace the operating systems on its existing computers, which students frequently tampered with during night shifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new version of Impi was \u201cself-healing\u201d, a kind of proto\u2013immutable distribution, which is exactly what Exclusive Books was looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addis explained that the system would automatically rebuild itself on every reboot to maintain a consistent, secure operational state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe sold it for R15,000, and they used it until 2023. I mean, that\u2019s return on investment through the roof,\u201d Addis stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the reason Exclusives could maintain it for so long was because they had made it incredibly easy to customise this version of Impi Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Shuttleworth enters the ring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Mark Shuttleworth, founder of HBD Venture Capital. Founder and CEO of Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Impi\u2019s profile grew further when Mark Shuttleworth\u2019s HBD Venture Capital invested in the company<\/a>, leading to the formation of a formal board and a push for large-scale government adoption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gary Fortuin had also joined the company as a shareholder by this point. He would become managing director upon HBD\u2019s entry as the majority shareholder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jonathan Carter was also involved. In 2020, Carter became the first South African<\/a> elected as the Debian Project Lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HBD\u2019s Impi Linux deal was announced in September 2005, with Shuttleworth set to have a 65% stake in the business, which was 7% held by Khuselo Investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Khuselo was controlled by Eddie Funde, the late former chairman of the South African Broadcasting Corporation, and Pumla Radebe, the former chairwoman of Johannesburg City Parks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A further 20% had been earmarked for an empowerment trust to distribute shares to black employees over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe reason we had to have a board and be structured was because there was a massive transversal tender for Linux desktops,\u201d Addis said when asked about the shift toward corporate governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Impi Linux eventually won the tender, which allowed government departments to procure the local distribution through the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, this didn\u2019t turn Impi into the success they had all hoped for. Individual departments still had to choose Linux over Windows and could then use the transversal contract to procure it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During this time, Addis was involved in Linux migrations at the Department of Science and Technology and the Presidential National Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the experience gave him practical insight into the challenges and successes of deploying Linux at a national level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final versions of Impi Linux shifted away from building a \u201cfrom scratch\u201d distribution to becoming an Ubuntu-based variant, which Addis felt lacked the unique differentiator of the earlier releases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe very last version of Impi was actually a reskinned Ubuntu 7.04. They sent a copy to Mark Shuttleworth, and he was very unimpressed,\u201d Addis recalled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selling to Business Connexion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2009, the landscape shifted as Shuttleworth sold his assets in South Africa and moved his entire R4.27-billion fortune overseas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shuttleworth had grown frustrated with South Africa\u2019s exchange control regulations, which made it onerous and costly to build the multinational open-source software empire he was hoping to establish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rather than constantly battling the Reserve Bank and taxman, Shuttleworth resolved to move his wealth out of the country, which famously led to a R250-million tax penalty<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shuttleworth sold Impi Linux to Business Connexion (later acquired by Telkom and rebranded to BCX) as part of his exit from South Africa for what was reported as a \u201cbargain basement price\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viviers didn\u2019t join Business Connexion, and Addis said he saw the writing on the wall. He remained at BCX as Head of Service Delivery for FOSS for 4 months before joining Siemens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In April 2009, BCX closed its open source specialist division and retired Impi Linux. The company said the promised open-source boom was not forthcoming and that it \u0093could no longer justify the unit\u0094.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe intellectual property had left the room. It was never going to work because the technical might behind Impi and what we were doing had left,\u201d Addis told MyBroadband.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After more than four years at Siemens, Addis joined Red Hat in 2013 as a Senior Solution Architect, where he has worked ever since. Addis is now a senior specialist architect for Red Hat Enterprise Linux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t realise it at the time, but we were actually asking a question: Is there a place in this world, or South Africa, for a South African Linux distribution?\u201d said Addis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven if we eventually worked out the answer was no, it was a worthwhile thing to ask.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

More photos of Impi Linux\u2019s early years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n
Impi Linux stand at the Johannesburg LinuxWorld conference in 2005, sponsored by Arivia.kom<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Impi Linux stand at the Johannesburg LinuxWorld conference in 2005<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Ross Addis, now a veteran engineer at Red Hat, was a central figure in the creation of a promising Linux distributiuon that was sold to Business Connexion by Mark Shuttleworth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":638394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[104292,104293,104289,104290,104291,104287,3896,104288,2760,31196],"class_list":["post-638382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-software","tag-andre-coetzee","tag-cubit-accounting","tag-francis-viviers","tag-gary-fortuin","tag-gauteng-linux-user-group-glug","tag-impi-linux","tag-mark-shuttleworth","tag-ross-addis","tag-sentech","tag-sentech-mywireless"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638382"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=638382"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":638501,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/638382\/revisions\/638501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/638394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=638382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=638382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=638382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}