Leadership By Numbers

While the converts remain mostly small and midsize companies, they are raising awareness at a time when millions of users of Microsoft Exchange 5.5 are seeing support end for their software.

"Linux is all business, there is no fluff. It does its job," says John Giantelli, the senior IT director at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). "After two years, we are up, we are running and we are happy."

Giantelli converted to Linux in 2003, which he picked over Windows 2000 to run his Notes/Domino installation and to replace his aging and unstable Windows NT infrastructure.

"Downtime is unacceptable to us," says Giantelli. "The Microsoft OS runs some of my products here very well, but for mail it was just not cutting it."

Working with Linux polarizes the choices in technology. On one side we have products like Microsoft Exchange which are specific to a single manufactuer and a specific OS release. On the other end of the spectrum there are messaging systems like Gordano and IBM/Lotus' Domino, both of which run on a variety of OS (including a variety of Linux distributions). This is a good thing, and it's why it makes sense to have a variety of Linux distributions.

When I choose Linux, I know that I have a range of manufacturers that are contesting for my dollars, while providing the same infrastructure. I know that I can move my Oracle or DB2 over to Novell SuSE from RedHat. I know that I can test on Caosity, then release on RHEL4. I know that I can use Debian to host my DNS/DHCP services. That's to my financial benefit, and it lets me sleep easier. No single Linux manufacturer is going to be able to retire a Linux feature, and force me to upgrade before I am ready.

It's not all rosy, because systems management of Linux is not as mature of the other systems--but it is getting better. The trial over which OS is the best are over. The championships are given event by event, and right now, Linux is carrying the torch for commodity technology.