SearchHP.com: HP World: Linux and Unix One Big, Happy Family

“Linux is widespread in the enterprise, despite what you may
have heard. It does not have a huge footprint yet in
mission-critical applications, but that may soon change, according
to Rick Becker, Hewlett-Packard’s chief technology officer of
software, Industry Standard Servers. In this question-and-answer
interview, Becker takes SearchHP.com through HP’s Linux strategy
during HP World and points out how Linux can complement Unix
installations in the enterprise, what roadblocks it is overcoming
as it matures and how HP’s merger with Compaq opened new doors for
the popular open-source operating system.

“Linux has been a buzzword at HP World. It’s getting
plenty of mentions during keynotes and sessions alike. Coincidence?
Or is it a strategic shift from HP?

“Becker: Not coincidence and absolutely
strategic. HP is committed to addressing our customer needs no
matter what platform choice they make. The fact is we have
customers who want Unix, customers who want NT and we have an
ever-growing number of customers who want Linux. So we are
committed to offering Linux across our entire server platform, both
the ProLiant and the IPF servers (Itanium), with the optimization
so our customers can deploy any of these OSs strategically and
safely. All three are important to us…”

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