A new study says more businesses plan on using Linux servers to host their most critical applications and services.
A survey of 133 IT executives by Saugatuck Research found that while only 18% were using Linux in critical server deployments presently, almost half these executive said they’ll have their top apps migrating to, or running full steam on, the open source platform in the next four years.
The report focused on Linux rollouts for “business critical” applications. Software that could be considered in this category includes CRM, ERP, relational database management systems (RDMS) or customized workflow or industry-specific applications (e.g. CAD and plant control software in manufacturing, trading software on Wall Street, patient records systems in hospitals).
It’s long been an accepted notion that many businesses have some Linux running somewhere; file-and-print, intranet and e-mail are some of the areas where Linux plays behind the scenes.
The migration of prime-time applications to Linux servers will happen in a few stages, among the companies surveyed. By 2007, a quarter of the surveyed executives said they’ll either have completed migrating critical applications on Linux, or will be the process of migrating. By 2011, around 47% of the executives said Linux will either have, or be close to having, critical applications on Linux.
"Linux is not going to replace legacy operating systems and development environments overnight, or even by 2011,” the report says. However, the “acceptance and legitimization of Linux for mission-critical environments indicates that a very large portion of the next generation [of key applications] will be built on Linux."