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Pitfalls and benefits 
espite its strengths, capabilities and cost-effectiveness, Linux has its critics. Among the many flaws highlighted by its detractors, lack of support is often the first to come up. Typically the argument is that because of its loose-knit nature, and the fact that no one owns Linux and is therefore responsible for its successes and failures, it implies that support is equally lacking.
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Conditions for strategic Linux adoption |
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It is an assertion that few in the open source world tolerate. “Of course there is It is an assertion thatIt is an assertion that few in the open source world tolerate. “Of course there is support," says De Wet. "We offer support, and so do other companies in this business." IBM similarly offers service and support contracts with all of its Linux offerings. "Commercial Linux is no longer free,” says Knight. “Clients take out a support contract from the vendors ... and while it may not be as much of a cost as other operating systems, they will still get support. People are prepared to pay for it ... and vendors are supporting it." Linux does have its pitfalls, and far too often these are glossed over by the sales talk of zero costs and instant returns. De Wet is quick to point out that Linux is not always the most cost-effective solution initially, although he is confident that the returns do eventually outweigh the costs. He puts forward as an example the training costs that companies often don't calculate into the overall costs of implementation. Because of the need to train up staff on a new system, often internally and for a price, the start-up fees for Linux may not be as cheap as what many users expect, he says. "Initially, your investment may actually be more than a similar system from another vendor, but in the longer-term the returns will be greater." A decision framework paper released in May by the Gartner research group highlights other pitfalls that users should be aware of when considering implementing Linux. Among these is the multiple distribution Linux mindset that leads to additional management requirements, vague support contracts, experimental projects initiated by small groups within the company, and poorly developed and supported applications provided by third-parties. When evaluating a potential switch to Linux, Gartner cautions, it is important to evaluate the entire Linux deployment, including skills, training and hardware costs, with a comparable Windows or Unix deployment. "It's often difficult to find valid comparisons, because enterprises typically use Linux for basic functions, while the more mature operating systems take on heavy-duty deployments."
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Anton de Wet, Technical Director, Obsidian Systems |
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Where Linux is a worthy competitor of Unix, says Gartner, is where it is used in relatively simple and small configurations on Intel platforms. "Against Windows, Gartner believes that Linux will generally excel in large horizontally-scaled clusters and replicated server placements because it lets you avoid replicated licence fees." However, Gartner cautions that as configurations become more complex, specifically large symmetric and multi-processing environments, Linux will lose its cost of ownership advantage to Unix. The firm warns that there are a number of hidden costs that companies should be aware of before switching to a Linux environment. In particular, it cautions against skills transfers, integration costs, migration costs and testing costs. The more obvious costs highlighted by Gartner include hardware, licence fees where appropriate, maintenance costs and administration tools. Next page: Linux's pretty face
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