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The Linux operating system (OS) has come a long way since it emerged from the bedroom of a young Finnish computer programmer in 1991. The package released by Linus Torvalds of the University of Helsinki has evolved from a hacker’s hobby to become a small, sturdy computing environment, capable of running on a variety of hardware.
Linux has been successful because its creator made it freely available for anyone else to use, improve and even sell, provided that anyone else could use the constantly-evolving Linux on the same terms. Around the world, countless programmers contribute enhancements and critique the work done by others.
The ‘kernel’, or core of Linux, features protected memory and has become remarkably sturdy. The result is a system that can seem almost bullet-proof compared to others, running continuously for hundreds of days without a crash. Because Linux is being continuously tested and used by a global community, flaws are detected quickly and people around the world immediately dedicate themselves to producing the best possible ‘fix’.
Software companies like Caldera, Red Hat, and Corel have ‘commercialized’ Linux for users who want the comfort of dealing with an established business rather than an amorphous and scattered group of programmers.
The rise of the Internet was a big boost to Linux because it is excellent for TCP/IP networking. Since 1998, from almost nowhere, Linux has seized almost 25 per cent of the market for server operating systems, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), marking a real breakthrough in the corporate market. IDC estimates Linux server shipments will grow at 28 per cent annually through to 2004.
Obviously, it can cost thousands of dollars less to own ‘free’ software, even if you buy it from a vendor with a customized front end. For many users, of course, cost is a secondary consideration compared to reliability, support service and, these days, security.
Linux users have discovered that they are supported by an excellent security ‘community’. Intrusions and weaknesses are reported immediately and self-interest means other users begin to contribute solutions right away. Many commercial vendors are not only tempted to conceal breaches until they have found a solution, they may have limited resources to devote to a cure. In fact, it can take months to generate a fix for some commercial software while Linux users tend to react much more quickly and effectively.
Today, big companies like IBM, Oracle and PeopleSoft are supporting Linux, either releasing Linux versions of software at the same time as other operating systems, or in the case of IBM, supporting Linux throughout its product line, from desktop to mainframe. IBM will spend US$1 billion this year to develop and support Linux, perhaps to counter Microsoft’s threatened domination of the emerging Internet software environment, but certainly to take advantage of its benefits.
Increasingly, an obvious Linux advantage is the multitude of available suppliers, rather than being a captive of one vendor. The user does not have to upgrade on someone else’s schedule, or wait for new features to be implemented.
In fact, it allows people to fill their exact needs themselves, on their own timetable and budget. There are no artificial needs with Linux. Users can implement as much or as little functionality as they need. Solutions are much closer to the people who have to live with the implementation.
Linux may have arrived in the corporation through the back door, the one that leads to the Internet, but for many organizations it will soon be everywhere on the enterprise.
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Linux may have arrived in the corporation through the back door, the one that leads to the Internet, but for many organizations it will soon be everywhere on the enterprise.
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