Network World Fusion: Linux barrels deeper into the enterprise

“The potential to save money is a driving factor behind
companies’ plans to implement Linux, or at least evaluate it as an
alternative to Unix-based enterprise servers. A recent IDC study
shows that a company with 1,000 users can save around $307 per
year, per seat by running Web, intranet and extranet applications
on Intel-based Linux servers over Unix servers based on Reduced
Instruction Set Chip (RISC) processors – such as HP’s PA
architecture or IBM’s RS6000.

The research firm says that companies can see even bigger
savings – $1,142 per user, per year – by migrating from Unix to
Linux when running collaborative applications, such as groupware
programs or custom-developed enterprise applications. IDC says
customers making the switch to Linux could see savings in hardware
costs (because Intel-based servers are less expensive than
RISC-based machines) and software licensing costs (because Linux
doesn’t have any).

And real-world savings are showing up on corporations’ bottom
lines when moves are made from proprietary to open source.”

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