"Lured by promises of increased security, lower costs or simply the chance to align themselves with a company other than Microsoft, many enterprises are turning to Linux systems. More often than not, that means tapping Linux vendor Red Hat, which has come to dominate the market and has made its name synonymous with the open source OS alternative.
"'There is a comfort level with Red Hat, particularly with companies that aren't deeply saturated in technology Relevant Products/Services from IBM knowledge,' Gartner vice president George Weiss told the E-Commerce Times. However, he added, 'It has a wide lead over its nearest competitor but still faces a lot of challenges to get more profitable and keep growing.'
"But choosing Linux still puts an enterprise in a minority, albeit a fast-growing one. In the fourth quarter of 2002, for instance, sales of servers preloaded with Linux software rose 41 percent from the year before, according to IDC. All told, Linux servers represented some US$600 million in sales, compared with $5 billion in outlays for machines running proprietary Unix.
"How can companies be sure they are making the right choice...?"
