ZDNet UK: Linux: The pain after the gain

“Linux firms are finding that even basing their products and
services on open source cannot protect against the realities of
corporate life. The problems they are discovering could make IT
buying decisions tougher for those firms considering Linux
strategies. They could also drive consolidation to the leading
Linux firms.”

“Last month, Linuxcare, a company that offers enterprise
services based around Linux, lost two senior executives. The
departures followed a March announcement that the firm had delayed
its plans for an initial public offering. The firm is currently
seeking to recruit a chief executive and chief information officer,
and has no definite date in mind for its flotation. Reports suggest
Linuxcare’s problems refer to whether the core software program it
uses as a support console should itself be open source.”

“Also, although much of the attention on recent volatile
stock market valuations has surrounded dot-com firms, Linux
companies have also had an uncomfortable ride with well-known names
such as Caldera Systems, Red Hat and Andover.Net losing chunks of
their paper worth. In the most spectacular example, stock of
hardware developer VA Linux has recently been trading in the
twenties after rising from $30 to $320 on its first day of trading
last December.”

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