Canonical

About Canonical

Canonical is the company behind Ubuntu — the open-source platform that has become the OS of choice for public clouds, enterprise data centres, developer workstations, and connected devices. Founded in 2004, Canonical has driven Ubuntu's adoption across more than 1 billion endpoints worldwide, making it the leading Linux distribution for both commercial and community use. Canonical's enterprise product portfolio extends well beyond the base OS. From Kubernetes and OpenStack to IoT edge computing and confidential AI workloads, Canonical delivers the tools, support, and managed services that modern organisations need to operate open-source infrastructure at scale — securely, reliably, and cost-effectively.

Core Products & Solutions

Ubuntu Pro

Ubuntu Pro is Canonical's comprehensive enterprise subscription, delivering up to 12 years of security maintenance, live kernel patching with Livepatch, and compliance tooling for FIPS 140-2, CIS and DISA STIG hardening. Ideal for regulated industries running Ubuntu LTS releases at scale.

Ubuntu on Cloud

Ubuntu is the number-one OS on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Canonical's cloud-optimised images are updated frequently, security-hardened, and available in both standard and minimal variants — giving enterprises a trusted, consistent foundation for cloud-native workloads.

Canonical Kubernetes (MicroK8s & Charmed K8s)

MicroK8s is a lightweight, fully conformant Kubernetes distribution perfect for edge and developer use. Charmed Kubernetes is Canonical's production-grade, highly automated Kubernetes platform for enterprise data centres and multi-cloud deployments — both backed by commercial support.

Charmed OpenStack

Canonical's Charmed OpenStack delivers a cost-effective private cloud platform operated via model-driven automation with Juju. Canonical's Managed OpenStack service lets organisations run a fully managed private cloud on their own hardware, with guaranteed SLAs.

Landscape — Systems Management

Landscape is Canonical's enterprise Ubuntu management platform, enabling IT teams to monitor, patch, and manage thousands of Ubuntu instances from a single console. Available as SaaS or self-hosted, Landscape simplifies compliance reporting and reduces operational overhead significantly.

Canonical AI & MLOps

Canonical provides a fully open-source AI/ML stack built on Kubeflow, MLflow, and Spark — deployed via Charmed operators on Kubernetes. Purpose-built for enterprise AI pipelines, it supports GPU acceleration, model management, and confidential AI workloads.

Snap & Snapcraft

Snaps are containerised software packages that run securely across all major Linux distributions. The Snap Store and Snapcraft platform enable ISVs and enterprise developers to distribute, update, and manage applications consistently from edge devices to the data centre.

Ubuntu Core — IoT & Edge

Ubuntu Core is a minimal, fully transactional version of Ubuntu designed for IoT gateways, industrial systems, and edge computing. With atomic updates, strict snap confinement, and over-the-air management, Ubuntu Core delivers carrier-grade reliability for connected devices.

Why Choose Canonical Ubuntu?

Ubuntu is trusted by more enterprises than any other Linux distribution — and for good reason. It combines the freedom and cost advantages of open source with the enterprise-grade reliability, security, and support that critical business systems demand. With Ubuntu Pro, organisations gain up to 12 years of security coverage across more than 25,000 packages — dramatically reducing exposure to CVEs without forcing costly upgrade cycles. Live kernel patching with Livepatch eliminates the need for maintenance windows when applying critical kernel security fixes, keeping production systems running without interruption. For compliance-driven industries such as government, finance, and healthcare, Ubuntu Pro ships with hardening automation for FIPS 140-2, CIS Benchmarks, and DISA STIG — cutting the time and cost of audit preparation. Canonical's certifications across major public clouds, hypervisors, and hardware platforms mean Ubuntu slots seamlessly into existing enterprise environments. Beyond the OS, Canonical's ecosystem of Charmed Operators automates the deployment and Day-2 management of complex open-source applications — from Kafka and PostgreSQL to Prometheus and OpenStack — reducing operational burden and the risk of human error at scale.

Cloud server infrastructure with gear icons representing managed hosting and configuration services on dark blue background

Canonical by the Numbers

1B+ Ubuntu endpoints worldwide

#1 Linux OS on public cloud

12 yrs Security maintenance with Ubuntu Pro

25,000+ Packages covered by Ubuntu Pro

20+ Years of open-source leadership

Ubuntu in the Enterprise — See It in Action

Canonical continuously evolves Ubuntu to meet the demands of modern enterprise IT. From automated security patching and compliance hardening to Kubernetes at the edge, the Ubuntu ecosystem gives organisations a unified, open-source platform that scales from a single developer laptop to a global cloud infrastructure. Watch Canonical's latest overview to see how Ubuntu Pro and the broader Canonical portfolio can accelerate your organisation's open-source strategy.

Securing the Software Supply Chain with Ubuntu

Software supply chain security is one of the most pressing challenges facing enterprise IT teams today. From open-source dependency vulnerabilities to nation-state attacks on build pipelines, the risks are real and growing. Canonical addresses these challenges head-on through Ubuntu Pro's expanded security maintenance, SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) tooling, and integration with industry security frameworks. Canonical's approach ensures that every layer of your software stack — from the kernel to application dependencies — is continuously maintained, auditable, and compliant. Watch this Ubuntu Pro explainer from Canonical's team to see how Ubuntu Pro's security architecture protects your organisation across the full software stack.

Key Enterprise Features

Livepatch — Zero-Downtime Kernel Updates

Canonical Livepatch applies critical kernel security patches live, without requiring a reboot. This eliminates unplanned maintenance windows and keeps production workloads running while maintaining a fully patched security posture.

Compliance Automation

Ubuntu Pro includes automated compliance hardening profiles for FIPS 140-2, CIS Level 1 & 2, and DISA STIG. Pre-built tooling reduces the manual effort of audit preparation and helps regulated organisations maintain continuous compliance.

Extended Security Maintenance (ESM)

ESM extends security patching for Ubuntu LTS releases beyond the standard 5-year window — up to 12 years in total. Organisations running legacy systems can maintain a secure, supported environment without the cost and disruption of urgent OS migrations.

Multi-Cloud & Hybrid Ready

Ubuntu's consistent behaviour across bare metal, private cloud (OpenStack), and all major public clouds (AWS, Azure, GCP, Oracle) makes it the ideal OS for hybrid and multi-cloud strategies — reducing operational complexity and skills fragmentation.

Solutions

Enterprise Data Centres

Ubuntu Server and Ubuntu Pro are the go-to OS for large-scale server deployments, virtualisation hosts, and on-premises workloads requiring long-term security maintenance and certified hardware compatibility.

Public Cloud Infrastructure

Ubuntu is the most popular OS image on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Cloud teams rely on Ubuntu's security-optimised minimal images and certified cloud-init configurations for fast, repeatable infrastructure provisioning.

Kubernetes & Container Platforms

MicroK8s and Charmed Kubernetes are chosen by platform engineering teams seeking a fully supported, open-source alternative to proprietary Kubernetes distributions — with commercial SLAs and long-term maintenance.

IoT, Edge & Industrial

Ubuntu Core's transactional update model and strict snap confinement make it the preferred OS for industrial gateways, smart retail systems, and connected medical devices requiring carrier-grade reliability.

Government & Regulated Industries

Ubuntu Pro's FIPS 140-2 certification and CIS/DISA STIG hardening tools are essential for government agencies and financial institutions operating under strict compliance mandates.

Developer Workstations

Ubuntu Desktop remains the leading Linux platform for software developers globally, with native support for all major development toolchains, IDEs, and container runtimes.

“Ubuntu Pro gives us the long-term security maintenance and compliance tooling we need to keep our infrastructure hardened and audit-ready — without the disruption of constant OS upgrades. It's become the standard Linux platform across our data centre estate.”

Infrastructure Lead — Enterprise Customer, Financial Services

Resources

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Ubuntu LTS and Ubuntu Pro?

Ubuntu LTS (Long Term Support) is the free community release that receives 5 years of security maintenance for the main OS package set. Ubuntu Pro is Canonical's commercial subscription that extends this to 12 years, adds security coverage for 25,000+ universe packages, and includes compliance tooling (FIPS, CIS, DISA STIG), Livepatch live kernel patching, and Landscape management. Ubuntu Pro is available at no cost for up to 5 personal machines or 50 machines for Ubuntu community members.

How does Canonical Livepatch work?

Livepatch is a kernel patching service that applies critical security fixes to a running Linux kernel without requiring a reboot. It is included with Ubuntu Pro subscriptions and managed via the Canonical Livepatch Service. This means production servers can remain continuously patched against critical kernel CVEs while maintaining uptime — eliminating the need for emergency maintenance windows.

Is Ubuntu certified for use with major public cloud providers?

Yes. Canonical maintains official Ubuntu images on AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and IBM Cloud. These images are regularly updated, security-hardened, and certified by both Canonical and the cloud providers. Ubuntu is consistently the most-launched OS on AWS and Azure, making it the default choice for cloud-native and hybrid infrastructure.

What support options are available through Aquion?

Aquion distributes the full range of Canonical Ubuntu Pro subscriptions and Landscape management licences to IT resellers and enterprise customers across Australia and New Zealand. Our team can assist with subscription sizing, procurement, and connecting you with Canonical's enterprise technical resources. Contact us to discuss your requirements.

Can Ubuntu Pro help with government and regulated industry compliance?

Yes. Ubuntu Pro includes automated hardening tooling for FIPS 140-2 (required for US federal and many Australian government workloads), CIS Level 1 and Level 2 benchmarks, and DISA STIG profiles. These tools significantly reduce the manual effort involved in achieving and maintaining compliance, and Canonical provides certified Ubuntu images that meet ASD (Australian Signals Directorate) and ISM guidance.

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