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Linux Gaining Strength In Downturn
gubm writes "A February survey of IT managers by IDC indicated that hard times are accelerating the adoption of Linux. The open source operating system will emerge from the recession in a stronger data center position than before, concluded an IDC white paper."
are often free!
sudo mount --milk --sugar
The year of linux on the desktop is finally here!
I find it morbidly funny somehow that companies have to experience poverty themselves before they see the same benefits of Open Source as some third world countries have already been aware of for years.
If you quote this signature there'll be 72 copies of Windows ME waiting for you in Heaven.
A survey of 330 IT Managers makes for questionable results as, although it doesn't state the sampling method, it suggests 'these are just the people who could be bothered to reply to surveys we sent out' rather than going for a representative sampling.
It's headline grabber is from a flawed type of question : "do you plan to...". The trouble is "I you plan to..." isn't the same as "there are currently plans drawn up to...". You're essentially getting a non-commital 'yeah probably' response.
It's also linking two unrelated questions: "are you planning on increasing linux usage?" and "are you cutting your budget". Whilst their may possibly be links between the two in some cases, it would be a logical fallacy to assume that companies are switching to linux because of budget cuts.
Why sad? Which power company do you use? Was price a factor? Sure it was! When did you last change your phone company or plan? Got a better offer from a competitor?
People make choices on price every day, but if Linux was considered to not be ready for stable business use yet, the price would not entice. Call the economic downturn an extra incentive to take the plunge.
sudo mount --milk --sugar
That one might think that the very same recession that increases interest in Linux might well put many of the leading vendors out of business.
Novell's operating margin and profit margins are both negative, according to e-trade. Sun Microsystems looks to be in big trouble, as usual.
But, on the other hand, Red Hat did well last year, so I guess Linux fans should keep their fingers crossed as their earnings are due on the 25th of March. Oracle is also doing ok and their earnings are due out the 18th.
IBM is totally kicking ass right now, EPS wise.
So... you could lose Sun Microsystems and maybe Novell, but you would still have Oracle, Red Hat and IBM to fund OSS development, and, of course, Google.
This is my sig.
Tomorrow, in an Indian city where I live... IBM, HP and Dell are showcasing their Open Source operations in an event sponsored by PC Quest magazine. There is a hige glut in Open Source adoption (mainly in the servers and storage segment) in recent times in India. I guess the picture is the same elsewhere as well.
If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
Solely?
Please. Linux wouldn't even be a consideration if it wasn't up to the task at hand. The only effect this is having is to make businesses rethink the whole "proven technology" sales pitch in favor of actual cost-effectiveness studies that haven't been done simply due to institutional momentum.
All this is going to do is bring intelligent IT planning into vogue, and make people take a look at system performance/applicability rather than chasing a corporate logo around.
Those of us who were involved, even peripherally, in metal bashing in Europe during the 90s may remember "Herr funfzehn prozent" - the guy from Opel who would guarantee you a supply contract if you could undercut his present supplier by 15% on price, which included warranty and quality costs. One German company found a way to make fuel injector casings by deforming metal rather than by cutting, resulting in a 50% cost saving. I don't recall anybody saying "What a pity Opel decided to use a cheaper identical product rather than a more expensive one". What they said was "Great, we have a long term contract, a patent and an unassailable technical lead."
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
I have recently been writing about what I call the "new frugality." With an estimated 40% of the world's (fake and inflated) wealth gone in the last year, it is finally becoming obvious to many more people, companies, and government that all expenditures need to be judged on value (preferably long term).
Unfortunately for me, virtually all of my recent consulting work has been taking open source projects, making a few customizations or enhancements, and designing a good deployment strategy. On one hand, this is not good because my revenues are down and I enjoy from-scratch development work. On the other hand, this is good because the profitability of my customers makes my future revenue streams more stable.
Linux, web platforms + frameworks, etc. all make IT more relevant because they increase the value to cost ratio.
Let's all hope things continue to go down the drain so the Linux base may grow!
Wait...
This week a relative gave a desktop running Ubuntu to his kids following a recommendation by a computer store owner "ubuntu is best for kids". Yes! This after having a bunch of worm infested unusable windows & vista laptops lying around his home for months! Shows linux has reached a level where it is very much usable by regular folks.
I've been using linux for 14 years now and for most of that time it just has not been quite ready for the masses. The Ubuntu team has made gigantic leaps in making the OS easily configurable and consistent, while the OpenOffice people have provided software which makes it compatible with formats which are necessary for business use. Sure there are still some quirks here and there, but in my opinion they are no harder to deal with than any of the commercial operating systems.
The economic downturn might have something to do with it, but it's only one reason why we're seeing it adopted more.
I have been using Linux for many years nearly exclusively now and everything I need an OS to do is done quite well by Linux.
The problem is that hardware companies still do not provide support and drivers. And that really pisses me off, increasingly so, since the number of gadgets, devices, peripherals one would like to attach to one's computer has been increasing.
I am sick and tired of getting "sorry, Linux not supported" canned text responses to my inquiries.
Developers do a great job to provide what these companies should provide, but Linux users should really show these guys a bit better that they need to do their homework.
I am planning to buy a Laptop and a mobile phone soon: the laptop company will force me to buy Windows and make no statements about hardware support and the mobile phone company explicitly told me that "sorry Linux is not supported" and not even was able to inform me if I could mount the memory card as an USB drive.
These companies suck but they won't change until a really big number of Linux users lets them know how much they suck.
I'm not saying that linux insinuates intelligence, I'm saying that looking at your options and choosing based on cost effectiveness is intelligent. The fact that Linux is involved at all has nothing to do with the principles I was talking about except in as much that Linux fits the bill regarding this particular situation. Some organizations have apparently found it to be the best option after considering multiple routes (evidenced by the fact that they had to switch from something else in the first place), so I guess that does fit the description 'intelligent' that I offered in some particular cases. Are you insinuating that Linux CANNOT be an intelligent decision?
I was speaking to the example, but I'm actually talking about a larger trend, extending far outside the IT industry. Companies in every sector are going to have to step back and look at both their processes and prejudices and do some actual honest-to-goodness cost-benefit analysis in order to keep anything resembling a healthy bottom line. The fact that there exists an alternative process/product that may be a good fit for their business that is cheaper and less restrictive than their current setup should be highlighted in any intelligent business strategy, and researched for implementation consideration.
Yeah, but it's quite easy to infect Windows by accidentally clicking an ad or something. It doesn't necessarily mean the kids are watching Backdoor Sluts 9 :P
calling this an "economic downturn." it didnt work for bush, it didnt work for the fed, and its always been a recession. stop candycoating.
Good people go to bed earlier.