Doug Mentohl wrote:
> "Nearly half of all enterprises will be running mission-critical
> business applications on Linux in five years' time"
>
> "Linux operating systems - and open source-based software in general -
> have reached critical marketplace mass,"
> http://www.techworld.com/opsys/news/index.cfm?RSS&NewsID=7681
Linux has proven itself in numerous environments. Google, the Weather
Channel, E-Trade, and numerous other organizations have made Linux a
cornerstone in their IT structure, and people have notices that these
companies have not only been very reliable and good providers, but they
have also been remarkably profitable.
Even in corporations where the more sensitive databases are still on
AIX, Solaris, or HP_UX or even MVS, Linux has often become the primary
gateway and transformation tool in accessing these systems. In some
cases Linux has even extended the life of legacy systems, as Linux
systems running WebSphere, WebLogic, WebMethods, and other
transformation and gateway tools have provided the ability to use these
systems in conjunction with other, often Linux, systems, for data
mining, real-time reporting, and collaboration systems based on SOA and
SOMA architecture.
Linux is also becoming the platform of choice for any JAVA
applications, including those listed above, because blade servers and
virtualization have made it possible to balance the loads and expand
the systems in an optimal way at remarkably low cost.
Other industry surveys show that about 85% of all businesses use Linux
for 'production' environments and intend to use more Linux in the
future.
This survey focuses exclusively on the "Mission critical" systems such
as the database used to store customer orders and fulfillment,
inventory, and Sarbanes-Oxley related reporting data.
In addition, Linux is widely being adopted as appliances, POS systems
such as cash registers, kiosks, and display systems, and have been
widely deployed in Call Centers.
Many government agencies and very large corporations are now looking at
information life cycle issues and have begun to realize that Open
Document Format is substantially preferable to Microsoft Office formats
or even OpenXML formats in which changes in formats and protocols are
often undocumented, unpublished, and can only be fully and accurately
implemented by Microsoft who keeps wanting to change the rule "at
will".
With the adoption of AJAX, ODF, and XML based protocols, along with a
strong desire to establish at least a common framework of standards
which is not controlled by a single vendor, there is a clear trend away
from Microsoft's "one size fits all" solutions. There also seems to be
much less tolarance of Microsoft's willingness to change license terms,
technologies, and other tactics designed to protect the Microsoft
monopoly.
Ironically, it's possible that Microsoft will adapt itself to this new
market, much the way IBM did in the 1990s. Bill Gates has led the
company with an iron fist, and has resisted both internal and external
attempts to grant more autonomy within the business units. But to
remain competitive, Microsoft may find that Office for Linux may become
a necessity, as well as support for Open Document Format. They may
need to offer applications, libraries, and functionality which better
integrates with Xen, VMWare, and other Linux/Unix technologies as
companies look for alternatives similar to Mac OS/X within the PC
offerings.
You can almost be certain that the PC OEMs aren't going to sit back and
let Microsoft force them into Windows-Only offerings if Mac OS/X
continues to grow as 12-20% per quarter, and White Box sales continue
to grow beyond 30% of the market. At minimum OEMs are going to want to
be able to advertize which machines are "Linux Ready" since these
machines now command a premium price, often as much as double the
profit of Windows-only machines even in the best of conditions.
You can almost tell which machinse are "Linux Ready" just by the
specifications. AMD-64 dual-core processors or 64 bit Intel DUO
processors, with ability to expand to 4 gigabytes of RAM, and OpenGL
optimized display chips and cards such as FireGL chips.
Previously, Intel tried to close ranks with Microsoft in defense
against AMD, but now Intel is beginning to realize that they need to be
more Linux friendly as well. Most of their newere chips, especially
those with hyperthreading and multicore chips, have the ability to run
Linux with Windows as a Xen Client, using an unmodified version of
Windows XP.
Microsoft will use every dirty trick in the book to try and fight to
retain their monopoly control, but at this point, the Mac, WhiteBox,
and 64 bit markets have pretty much conspired to break that monopoly
control. Since the courts aren't willing to take action, the market
has pretty much conspired against Microsoft.
Microsoft can either "play nice with Linux" or they could find their
newest products excluded from government offices, large corporations,
and as a result most mid-sized businesses. The OEMs will sell what
their customers want.
Even the Retail market is beginning to shift. Customers are now
looking at "NASCAR" and Acer for Linux-ready machines instead of trying
to guess which of the 10 different HP and Sony machines MIGHT be Linux
ready.
Ultimately, Microsoft will just have to learn to "play nice with Linux"
whether they like it or not.
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