“In part one of this question and answer interview chief
technology officer David L. Sifry, talked about the latest
developments at Linuxcare, included the merger with TurboLinux Inc.
and a new managed services program. In part two, he discusses
changes in Linux’s positioning as an enterprise operating system
and the changing technology landscape and problems created by the
Linux 2.4 kernel.”
“searchEnterpriseLinux: Will your customer
base, which like most Linux service and product providers consists
mostly of technology companies, change?
Sifry: Yes. Frankly, however, the adoption of
Linux in brick-and-mortar enterprises is going slower than I had
originally anticipated. On the positive side, there are pilot
programs happening within larger enterprises today. Also, I think
there will soon be a lot of pick-up in vertical industries.
Financial services, oil and gas, and scientific computing companies
are interested in Linux. The other very interesting area is in
retail point-of-sale systems, which is where we’re seeing the most
pilots and people coming by and kicking the tires.”
“searchEnterpriseLinux: What issues are
going to come up repeatedly as people update to the Linux 2.4
kernel?
Sifrey: First of all, they want us to help
them to decide if they want to be on the bleeding edge and
integrate 2.4 technology into their products and services. One of
the good things about the open development process is that people
have known for a while what 2.4 looks like. There’s no hype. Check
the code, baby. It’s either in there, or it’s not. I fully
anticipate that our tech support lines are going to be busy for a
while.”