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Fad or Future ? Separating Hype from Reality
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Jaruzelski, Barry |
| Abstract | The Linux operating system has taken the computing world by storm. Every major technology publication has feature articles promoting Linux and its potential to undermine the dominance of Windows. Hardware and software vendors announce Linux products and services daily, and new companies focused exclusively on Linux have started to emerge. Linus Torvalds, the creator of the Linux kernel, is revered in the technology community as the David to Bill Gates' Goliath. The stock market has taken notice as well. Linux vendors Red Hat, Cobalt Networks, Andover.net, and VA Linux Systems have all reached sky-high valuations upon their IPOs, while existing software vendors such as Corel and Applix have seen their stock prices surge at the announcement of Linux products. Additionally, a consolidation wave is already striking the Linux market as key players such as Red Hat, VA Linux, and Corel buy up other firms to broaden their Linux capabilities. Over the past year, the rate of Linux adoption has been tremendous, and the trend should continue. In 1998, Linux was the fastest growing operating system with 190% year-on-year growth, capturing 16% of the new server market. Total shipments of Linux for clients and servers is projected to grow at greater than 25% annually from 1999 through 2003. According to a recent survey, over a third of enterprises are using or plan to use Linux within the next year. We estimate that Linux has close to 20 million users today and project that the total Linux server market will exceed $5 billion by 2003. Despite this initial success and media attention, Linux penetration has been limited to low-end servers and sectors of the technical computing market, and its long-term success beyond these markets is far from certain. Amidst all the hype, technology providers and users alike are unsure about the level of commitment they should make to Linux. At the strategic level, there are three major questions that need to be addressed to separate the hype from reality. • Will Linux – like Unix – fragment into multiple flavors? • In which segments will Linux become a competitive alternative to Solaris or Windows NT? • How can technology providers make money in an open-source model? In this paper, we present Booz • Allen & Hamilton's views on these questions and make recommendations on how companies can best embrace the Linux revolution. A significant threat to the success of Linux is the … |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.bah.com/greatideas/LinuxWhitepaper.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
