Linux moves into the mainstream

A couple of years ago, Linux was little more than a fledgling operating system. Its advocates predicted world domination and its critics unflinchingly honed in on its failings. Today it is a radically different picture. Linux has matured in the last few years, not only in kernel code but also in its breadth of applications. Instead of the catch-up game it played in past years, Linux is now taking up a role as a major innovative force and a leader in a new generation of connected computing.

Linux also has the support of a number of industry heavyweights. Instead of only being the keen interest of a ragtag band of hackers, Linux now lists among its fans the likes of IBM, Oracle and Dell, with even Sun Microsystems dabbling in the Linux pool. The influence of the interest from these industry giants is becoming evident with a growing number of equally influential companies following their lead.

Linux is not a panacea; it does not have all the answers but its devotees maintain that it certainly has most of them. As much as Linux is like Unix, it is not nearly as mature, and while its desktop environment is evolving rapidly, it is not yet as friendly as Windows. There is always a "yet" when you talk to Linux enthusiasts, because no matter how much criticism is heaped onto the system, few of them believe the open source operating system will not achieve its goals.

Is it robust enough to replace mission-critical applications? Is it a viable desktop replacement? Probably not yet, and for the moment it sits at the "edge" of the large area network acting as a router, mail gateway, firewall and proxy. However, there is little reason to believe it will not move deeper into the heart of the organisation.

"The Linux hype is over," says Paul Kotschy, director of local Linux company SevenC. "A few years ago we thought we were going to take over the world ... but the growth has not been anywhere near the extent I was expecting."

He adds that even with a new sense of realism, he is still confident Linux is going to become a dominant force in the years to come.

Anton de Wet, founder and Technical Director of Obsidian and probably the biggest champion of the local open source movement, agrees that the time framework for Linux ubiquity has only just begun.

"We are still at the beginning of the growth slope," says De Wet, who compares the growth of Linux to the growth of the Internet. "In Internet time, Linux is at the stage at which the World Wide Web was introduced."

He predicts significant growth for the operating system in the coming months and years. His confidence that Linux is going to become ubiquitous is based on one of Linux`s strengths: its ability to run on nearly any device. "It makes sense to be able to have the same operating system from your watch to your server."

Linux is one of the key elements of an "opportunity-ready infrastructure", says Dave Botha, country marketing executive for IBM. In e-business, he notes, speed to market and flexibility are key elements, both of which are offered by Linux. "For example, it is possible to set up virtual Linux servers within minutes. This is important in a rapidly changing business environment."

Linux is a key element of an opportunity-ready infrastructure.

Dave Botha, country marketing executive, IBM

Botha ascribes Linux`s success to another important feature: portability. Linux, he says, is as capable of running on low-end PCs as it is on high-end servers. "Linux is creeping into the enterprise and customers are starting to ask for Linux."

The growth in mind-share is something that Mark Knight, Caldera regional manager for Africa, also highlights. "There is huge interest. Even from companies that you wouldn`t expect to know about Linux. Just about everyone is talking about a Linux strategy."

However, Paul Meehan, head of the IQ Business Group`s application development division, says while many technical staffers are taking an interest in Linux and many are experimenting with it, the decision-makers are still tied into their existing vendor relationships and few are prepared to change. "Most businesses are going down a vendor path already and they won`t change. Locally I haven`t seen the growth in mind-share for Linux." He points out that this does not mean that companies are ignoring Linux, but many have a strategy that "recognises that Linux is there".

So what`s the number one reason for using Linux? Reliability comes up constantly, closely followed by the cost savings most companies expect to gain from the deployment of the operating system.

Linux is a community and not a corporation.

Mark Knight, regional manager for Africa, Caldera

For De Wet, the combination of reliability and cost savings is the most compelling reason to switch to Linux. "The biggest savings in money will come from the reliability of the system." He notes that Linux`s reliability is both its best selling point, as well as its greatest failing from vendors` point of view. "Linux is not made to sell," he says, illustrating the point with countless examples of clients who sit with one Linux system year after year and resist the urge to upgrade. "It is the old story of: 'if it isn`t broken, don`t fix it`."

Botha believes Linux offers many benefits to business, with robustness and flexibility, allowing end-users to rapidly adapt to each opportunity, on the top of his list. On the savings front, the benefits are not only derived from lower licensing fees, but from the re-usability of hardware. Botha says the ability of Linux and its ports to run on nearly all known hardware is a key element of its value proposition. "Linux can be run on customers` existing infrastructure without needing to buy expensive new hardware."

At the other end of the scale from the IBM enterprise world is the market highlighted by Caldera`s Knight: retail. Linux is ideal for point of sale systems and any area in which cycle time is important. "Client-facing terminals need to be robust and reboot as fast as possible in the case of error. This is where Linux is strong."

Dean Richter, Caldera`s enterprise channel manager, adds: "Linux is ideally suited to these types of applications as well as anything embedded, because of its speed."

SevenC`s Kotschy highlights another key area in which Linux excels: "The call centre application is a huge case for Linux," because of its robustness and its built-to-specification nature.

Despite its strengths, capabilities and cost-effectiveness, Linux has its critics. Among the many flaws highlighted by its detractors, lack of support is often the first to come up. Typically the argument is that because of its loose-knit nature, and the fact that no one owns Linux and is therefore responsible for its successes and failures, it implies that support is equally lacking.

It is an assertion that few in the open source world tolerate. "Of course there is It is an assertion that

It is an assertion that few in the open source world tolerate. "Of course there is support," says De Wet. "We offer support, and so do other companies in this business."

IBM similarly offers service and support contracts with all of its Linux offerings.

"Commercial Linux is no longer free," says Knight. "Clients take out a support contract from the vendors ... and while it may not be as much of a cost as other operating systems, they will still get support. People are prepared to pay for it ... and vendors are supporting it."

Linux does have its pitfalls, and far too often these are glossed over by the sales talk of zero costs and instant returns. De Wet is quick to point out that Linux is not always the most cost-effective solution initially, although he is confident that the returns do eventually outweigh the costs. He puts forward as an example the training costs that companies often don`t calculate into the overall costs of implementation. Because of the need to train up staff on a new system, often internally and for a price, the start-up fees for Linux may not be as cheap as what many users expect, he says. "Initially, your investment may actually be more than a similar system from another vendor, but in the longer-term the returns will be greater."

A decision framework paper released in May by the Gartner research group highlights other pitfalls that users should be aware of when considering implementing Linux. Among these is the multiple distribution Linux mindset that leads to additional management requirements, vague support contracts, experimental projects initiated by small groups within the company, and poorly developed and supported applications provided by third-parties.

When evaluating a potential switch to Linux, Gartner cautions, it is important to evaluate the entire Linux deployment, including skills, training and hardware costs, with a comparable Windows or Unix deployment. "It`s often difficult to find valid comparisons, because enterprises typically use Linux for basic functions, while the more mature operating systems take on heavy-duty deployments."

We are still at the beginning of the slope of Linux growth.

Anton de Wet, Technical Director, Obsidian Systems

Where Linux is a worthy competitor of Unix, says Gartner, is where it is used in relatively simple and small configurations on Intel platforms. "Against Windows, Gartner believes that Linux will generally excel in large horizontally-scaled clusters and replicated server placements because it lets you avoid replicated licence fees." However, Gartner cautions that as configurations become more complex, specifically large symmetric and multi-processing environments, Linux will lose its cost of ownership advantage to Unix.

The firm warns that there are a number of hidden costs that companies should be aware of before switching to a Linux environment. In particular, it cautions against skills transfers, integration costs, migration costs and testing costs. The more obvious costs highlighted by Gartner include hardware, licence fees where appropriate, maintenance costs and administration tools.

One issue that comes up repeatedly in the ongoing Linux debate is the desktop side of the operating system and it is an area that most people in the know have strong feelings about. Over the years, Linux has been a largely command-line-based operating system, appropriate for server-type installations and those with Unix skills.

This has gradually changed with the release of new and innovative desktop environments for Linux. Two among these stand out as being the leaders of the pack: KDE and Gnome. Gnome has been so successful that Sun Microsystems recently adopted the system as its default desktop in place of the CDE environment it previously used.

However, desktop usability is about a lot more than an attractive interface and it is in the compatibility with dominant formats such as Word and Office that Linux has often come off second best.

De Wet predicts that this will change in the next year. "The Linux desktop is still difficult for many users, but this will change, particularly with the release of products such as Open Office."

Richter agrees that compatibility issues pose the biggest difficulties with the deployment of Linux on the desktop. "The problem is that it is still harder to get all the bits to fit together and it requires more knowledge." Also, he says, "Microsoft has a closed product which makes it harder for developers to develop compatible products." Richter adds that issues around drivers and libraries for Linux also hinder its desktop evolution.

What everyone agrees upon is that ongoing desktop development is good for the operating system. For some, such as Caldera`s Richter, it is important that the desktop becomes a prominent feature of Linux as "one of the reasons Microsoft is successful in the server room is because most households and offices have Microsoft on their desks". De Wet adds that the Linux desktop will become important when "people realise that Linux is a good backplane and are ready to move to Linux desktops".

Linux does not have all the answers. It started as one man`s idea and has developed into a world-changing phenomenon. Even if business is not actually using Linux, the influence of the open source movement has been significant, and almost every software developer has an open source strategy.

Locally I haven`t seen the growth in mind-share for Linux.

Paul Meehan, head, IQ Business Group`s application development division

Internationally, developers are starting to talk the language of open standards and many of them are starting to invest time and coding hours in the development of open source software. IBM leads the pack in this respect, but Sun and Oracle are equally significant players.

And yet, despite its relative immaturity, Linux continues to gain mind-share and server room space. Linux is no longer playing catch-up, and now innovates with advancements such as Beowulf, a powerful supercomputer infrastructure built with low-powered computers; and remote management abilities that make it a powerful addition to any large corporation`s technical arsenal.