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Yet Linux might need more than the availability of enterprise apps to speed adoption. Oracle and SAP have offered Linux versions of their enterprise products for more than a year and haven't seen significant increases in demand. Oracle says only a few hundred customers have shifted to Linux-based applications. And Linux already serves as a low-cost platform for running databases. Oracle last June launched its Unbreakable Linux campaign for its database, application server, and E-business apps, certifying Red Hat as the first Linux distribution it supports. In March, it added certification for UnitedLinux. Yet Linux isn't changing the length of time it takes to sign software contracts, says Bob Shimp, Oracle's VP of database marketing. The bigger issue is the economy, he says.

Low cost and the ability to use Linux without paying a licensing fee continue to be significant drivers of Linux adoption. More than three-quarters of those surveyed cite cost, reliability, and performance as the top three reasons for using Linux.

More than a third of survey respondents have encountered compatibility problems with existing software or poor documentation in their Linux deployments, up slightly from a year ago. Increasingly problematic are the growing number of Linux distributions and versions available and poor technical support. More than a quarter of respondents attribute deployment problems to proliferating distributions and versions, while 20% cite poor technical support.

On the desktop, Linux still isn't much of a factor in taking share from Microsoft. Not that buyers wouldn't welcome a choice: Eighty-one percent of survey respondents like Linux's relatively low cost, and 65% are looking for an alternative to Windows. Half see Linux as more reliable than or outperforming other desktop operating systems. Still, only 9% of a company's PCs are likely to actually run on Linux. Windows' pervasiveness and familiarity discourage companies from changing their desktop operating systems. In addition, 54% say compatibility with existing software is a problem in deploying Linux on PCs, while 31% cite their personnel's technical knowledge of Linux as an impediment.

So where will Linux grow? Over the next year, most execs surveyed plan to continue using Linux as an operating system for database management, Web or intranet servers, application development, and network file-and-print services. Less than a third plan to run enterprise apps on Linux, about the same as a year ago. In the past, the Linux movement was driven by "the Linux faithful," more than by technical capability, analyst Gillen says. As Linux matures, the ranks of believers are being diluted by people who think about Linux simply as a business tool. "The general business user doesn't look at Linux as a religious statement," he says.

And users don't want their choice of operating system to require a leap of faith. So expect them to continue exhibiting more care and caution and doing more testing and cost-benefit calculations as they consider deploying Linux more extensively.

Illustration by Pep Montserrat
Photo of Jaeger by Bill Cramer
Photo of Brand by David Strick