Linux enters the enterprise

Torvalds' decision to open his initial source code for public input and alteration was a dramatic departure from the typical proprietary product development model, as was the rapid and enthusiastic embrace of Linux by the software community.

Within months, this enthusiasm amongst early adopters gained the weight of religious fervor among many Linux adherents seeking alternatives to existing proprietary solutions.

Thus Linux took a seat in IT history as a disruptive technology: a less complex and less expensive alternative to entrenched proprietary solutions, yet quite capable of performing well for many applications.

The hype-fueled climate of these earlier times combined with grandiose visions (some would say hallucinations) of unseating Microsoft's stranglehold on the desktop and derailing its increasing software hegemony created an air of management suspicion around Linux.

However, as with most technological advancements, over time more business-focused minds began to see the inherent potential of Linux in a corporate setting and soon recognized the pragmatic opportunity for Open Source infrastructure solutions.

This potential also resonated with IT management and staff, and as IT vendors and Independent Software Vendors began to embrace Linux, it built market momentum. With growing input, investment, and support from industry participants, Linux evolved per vendor clients' desires, thereby driving its evolution from a disruptive to a sustaining technology.

Today, the support and investment that Linux enjoys from vendors is driven as much by their desire for success as by the technology's own merits and business value.

The original promise behind Linux - a multi-platform UNIX-style offering that scales from PC desktops to mainframe computers - is now becoming a reality.

Relative to rival proprietary solutions, Linux is proving a cost-effective and stable environment for deployment in Small and Medium Businesses while ISV support for the desktop, middleware, and ebusiness is impressive and growing.

Companies are discovering that Linux represents a practical upgrade path for legacy UNIX solutions, as well as for their state-of-the-art application
requirements.

Linux's appeal is spreading internationally also, with governments in countries such as Germany and China, as well as departments of the federal government including the US Department of Defense and localities such as Houston, Texas demonstrating their support, thus lending Linux increasing credibility as a global IT solution that offers companies a secure development environment for business applications.

This, combined with growing support from a wide variety of IT vendors and ISVs, is helping articulate the bottom-line impact Linux affords organizations of every kind.