"When we last reported on the state of Linux, 17 months
ago, there were several reasons the open-source operating system
had yet to take its place as a core enterprise solution. Although
it had made its way out of the underground, a lack of vendor
support, scarce in-house skills, fainthearted management and weak
administrative toolsets prevented Linux from taking that
all-important leap from simple Web server to enterprise-application
server, or even onto the desktop itself. Still, we said then that
time was on Linux's side, and if it continued to evolve at its
current pace, widespread adoption would be inevitable (see "The
Linux Challenge"). We stand by that assessment.
Today, as then, if Linux is being snubbed by an enterprise, it's
likely for cultural reasons. IT managers often equate open source
with shareware and a lack of commercial support. Unless a manager
has been involved in a successful Linux deployment, caution is the
name of the game. Linux advocates at the bottom of the chain of
command face an uphill battle to change this closed mind-set. The
status quo, whether it's the reliability of Sun Microsystems
Solaris hardware or an unwillingness to evaluate a system that is
not based on Microsoft Windows NT/2000, is difficult to change --
even with the promise of increased ROI (return on investment),
better performance and improved uptime. It's hard to teach an old
dog new tricks. Another factor hurting Linux is market
fragmentation -- there are upward of 150 distributions out there,
though only a small fraction can be considered enterprise class (we
tell you which ones fill that bill in "SuSE Queues Up for a Clean
Sweep")."
