“Before we start it is best to agree on what we mean by
‘enterprise’. In this context we are talking about a class of
applications with very specific characteristics:
- …availability levels that equate to
virtually no downtime… - …performance and scalability… should be
able to support tens (or even hundreds) of thousands of
transactions per hour. - System security is paramount…
- …centrally controlled management of the
facilities provided by enterprise applications, as well as the
servers and hardware that support them.”
“Conclusion
Linux may have its feet firmly implanted in the Enterprise, but
we would be unwise to say that the operating system currently has
all it needs to be used as the basis for enterprise-scale
applications. The OS lacks some facilities, particularly in
availability, that are accepted as fundamental in this space.
However, what we can see is a clear desire to add these
facilities, from some of the biggest names in the industry. Big
Iron companies such as IBM and Amdahl are putting their full weight
behind the OS; companies with a Unix tradition such as SCO and
Sun are also (albeit grudgingly) conceding that Linux has a rosy
future.”
“We expect an evolution in Enterprise Linux usage, not a
revolution. It will be driven in part by the growing use of
application servers, and the increasing functionality of such
platforms. Products from IBM and BEA already run on Linux –
as these products displace traditional applications, so does Linux
stand a good chance of displacing the operating systems upon which
the traditional apps are run.”