Linux Going MainstreamLinux Going Mainstream

United Cerebral Palsy Inc. of New York City uses Linux as the foundation for its Checkpoint Firewall-1, Apache Web servers, and Cold Fusion applications. It's considering Sun Microsystems' StarOffice as an alternative to Windows on the desktop. "Technical curiosity and hedging our bets in regards to security are more the motivation," CIO Jim Brown writes in an E-mail. "I also want my technical staff to understand an operating system other than Microsoft ... just in case."

Software in general has matured enough to meet most users' needs, Brown says, and the latest features, particularly in the case of Windows, offer little incentive to upgrade. Eventually, software will be so pervasive and interconnected that open source and proprietary distinc- tions won't matter, he says. "This underlying medium for the functional tools will be as overlooked as electricity."

Not everyone is convinced that Linux is the right way to go: 23% of survey respondents have no plans to use it in the next 12 months, citing incompatibility with enterprise apps, lack of internal expertise, and a preference for a homogenous operating-system environment.

The idea of an IT environment where Unix, Linux, and Windows coexist doesn't bother UPS. "Mixed environments are the norm for IT departments," Gray says. Linux as a replacement for Windows is less appealing for UPS, which has 6,000 Windows-based servers and 100,000 Windows-based desktops. "Windows works for us, and it's already on Intel," Gray says.

Still, Red Hat is targeting the desktop with a version of its Linux operating system introduced earlier this month. "We believe the market and technology is ready," says Mike Ferris, Red Hat's product marketing manager for Enterprise Linux. "The customers who adopt Red Hat Desktop are those who are looking for an alternative."

As Linux adoption in the enterprise grows, so does the scrutiny. This year, 32% of survey respondents that don't use Linux say open-source software isn't trustworthy, up from 19% a year ago. Some of the lack of trust may be in the technology. But it also can be attributed to the multiple lawsuits SCO Group Inc. has filed against Linux users, distributors, and licensors. The legal activity has raised questions of accountability, whether a user company is liable for copyright or intellectual-property infringements in open-source code.

UPS isn't ignoring the controversy, which includes lawsuits that SCO Group has filed against AutoZone, DaimlerChrysler, IBM, and Novell. But UPS isn't letting legal actions interfere with its business-technology plans. The company has policies that prohibit users from downloading freeware or shareware without IT's permission, Gray says, and it's "tweaking them to include open source, too."

Linux has done well penetrating high-performance computing and IT-infrastructure environments such as those at UPS, Trimble, and Boeing. One area where Linux Professional Institute's Leibovitch doesn't see it going soon is industry-specific environments. Open-source applications written for vertical industries are coming, but slowly. "It's not a matter of technology but rather business issues," he says. "End users have to wrap their heads around working collaboratively with the open-source community rather than reinventing the wheel each time they build a new application."

Vendor enthusiasm may be fueling some users open-source moves, but that can only go so far. Leibovitch believes that Linux is growing in the direction its users want it to. "Generally speaking, the suppliers of the technology have been attuned to the user base," he says.

UPS's Gray agrees, noting that vendor responsiveness is one of several factors driving Linux forward. "The Intel boxes have been juiced up, the [software vendors] have gotten virtually all of the products we're looking for, and Linux itself has gained some stability," he says. "That triumvirate of activities has helped make us comfortable that introducing Linux is not putting UPS at risk."

With the likes of UPS and Boeing getting comfortable with the operating system running critical business systems, the momentum behind Linux will continue to build. That means Linux and open source are set to increase their impact on the business world.

Illustration by Tom Nick Cocotos