In Linux we trust?

Software Magazine, Sept, 1998 by Ann Harrison

Nelson acknowledges that Unix programmers know more about systems compared to what it takes to develop in a Windows environment. But he says these programmers are harder to find and retain in industrial settings. According to Nelson, major institutions say to themselves, "`If I want to do development, I'll hire some people who are maybe mid-level developers, but can use these tools and get me the functionality I need.'"

Companies that are already developing on NT appreciate the fact that they can develop to a single standard, which ensures a certain level of compatibility. Nelson points out that Microsoft has succeeded in bundling functionality with integrated applications in both back-office and desktop suites. "Microsoft is spending a lot of time with customers putting together a cogent, overall strategy for what their operating system has to do to meet enterprise implementation standards," he says.

Linux proponents say the flip side of this argument is that when a company uses Microsoft products, they are in lockstep with Microsoft's development agenda. If a company has gained all the benefits they need from standardization, they should continue using Microsoft products, says Red Hat's Young. "But most sophisticated corporations recognize that they simply can't do that. It looks good on paper, but in reality they don't get all the tools and services they need from a single supplier, no matter how big it is."

Boeing's Devereaux predicts that many companies will eventually run parallel operating systems to leverage the benefits of both Linux and NT as his firm has done. He says the biggest challenge that NT presents to Linux is the ubiquity of its office automation suite. The Boeing office environment has standardized on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. But there are now so many Boeing employees running Linux from home that the company initiated a "single glass project" to help these users download E-mail from Microsoft Exchange. A Citrix Java client now uses X-Windows to link engineering workstations with the Windows-based office environment. Devereaux says there need to be better viewers for Linux. Other Linux users, like Kessell of Southwestern Bell, say that as long as Applixware comes out within two or three months of Word, compatibility is a non-issue.

Will Linux Save Unix or Destroy It?

While Linux distributors claim that they are going after the NT market, they could be a greater threat to Unix vendors. "It's a virtual work-a-like," says CyberGate's Traister. "You can get your favorite Unix code off the net and put it on your Linux system with the same amount of effort as putting it on any other platform."

Young of Red Hat argues that since Unix vendors make most of their money on servers, Linux will help ensure that Microsoft does not own the desktop so completely that users will buy a Microsoft enterprise server to integrate with their Microsoft desktops and departmental servers. Linux's success in departmental and Web servers will keep companies open to the idea of heterogeneous environments, he says. "They know they are getting their heads handed to them," says Young. "Linux is competing with them, but it is also an ally in the necessary battle to keep Microsoft from owning the whole world."