“InfoWorld: How do you see Linux’s role in the
enterprise, and how does this release support that role?”
“Shimp: Oracle8i was introduced on the Linux
platform in July of 1999, so it’s been a little bit over a year for
us now. We’ve garnered some experience now in the marketplace
[regarding] where and how customers are using it. In the early
days, Linux was primarily a developers-oriented product. But in the
last year, we’ve definitely seen an uptake by the dot-com community
and other Internet types of companies. But [what] we’re also
seeing is that Linux is definitely moving out beyond the classic
dot-com and beginning to enter into the enterprise.”
“InfoWorld: Would you categorize the past 12
months as building the Linux foundation?”
“Shimp: Yes, we’ve established the credibility
of the Linux-based product by demonstrating the value to dot-com
companies. Once we get [this proof] to enterprise customers and can
point to customer examples, [the companies will] gain a lot of
confidence in it. And we are getting the product in the hands of
more and more IT developers.”