By Elizabeth Millard
www.LinuxInsider.com,
Part of the ECT News Network
09/10/04 9:31 AM PT
Gartner analyst Andrea Di Maio told LinuxInsider that many European
countries are taking a close look at cost issues. Although Linux
vendors tout the lower costs of open source, Di Maio noted that the
numbers can be more complex than they claim when migration costs
are factored in.
With the recent education efforts on Software Freedom Day and
aggressive moves by IBM (NYSE: IBM) Latest News about IBM and
Novell (Nasdaq: NOVL) Latest News about Novell, it seems that
open-source advocates have much to cheer about.
Although open-source operating systems have not yet become the
standard in corporate and consumer environments, and face plenty of
competition, several recent initiatives have shown that it is
becoming more prevalent worldwide and has the potential to grow
even more. Linux Relevant Products/Services from Sybase ASE Linux
Express Edition FREE, in particular, is seeing increased
popularity all over the map, from Korea to Germany to Brazil.
Here is a glimpse at some of the major open-source initiatives that
are changing how computing Relevant Products/Services from IBM
eServer xSeries Systems is done on the planet.
Asia Major
One of the most powerful areas to embrace Linux and open source
Latest News about open source has been Asia, which has seen a boom
in interest for the operating system over the past year.
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry announced it was doing
a major push to encourage Linux use in the country's school system.
The effort fits in with the Ministry's desire to see Linux gain
greater share in companies.
Currently, Windows Relevant Products/Services from InterLand
Business Hosting Services has more than 90 percent of market share
for Japanese PCs, and the Ministry is eager to change that number.
It has sent Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Latest News about Microsoft
official warnings about its licensing agreements in the past and
issued statements about its Linux preferences.
In China, anti-Microsoft sentiment seems even more rabid, and
officials have issued a call for a "homegrown" open-source
operating system that can replace Window's dominance.
Other parts of Asia are just as keen to bring open source forward.
On Thursday, IBM Korea and Samsung Latest News about Samsung
announced a partnership designed to develop and market corporate
server Latest News about Servers solutions jointly using Linux.
This is similar to another recent joint project, which saw Red Hat
(Nasdaq: RHAT) Latest News about Red Hat hooking up with Unisys
(NYSE: UIS) Latest News about Unisys to boost Linux's presence in
South Korea's Internet data center market.
The success of Asia is being carefully watched, Yankee Group
analyst Laura DiDio told LinuxInsider. "It's a huge market, and
everyone is interested in it," she said. "So it makes sense that
people would look at what's happening there, and how well they make
Linux work."
European Centre
DiDio noted that, at the same time that observers are watching Asia
to see how well open source spreads there, Asian countries are
paying careful attention to what is going on in the EU. Litigation
against Microsoft in those countries could indicate how Asia
proceeds with its own antimonopoly strategies, she noted.
The most recent drama in Europe involved Munich, which announced
that it was going with Linux, then that it was not, and finally
that the city would put the plan back into motion. The city had
unveiled a migration strategy, only to balk over patent concerns.
But in early August, the city noted that it was proceeding, and
reiterated its commitment to open source.
Other European countries have had governmental entities that chose
Linux as well, including Austria, Norway and England.
Gartner Latest News about Gartner analyst Andrea Di Maio told
LinuxInsider that many European countries are taking a close look
at cost issues. Although Linux vendors tout the lower costs of open
source, Di Maio noted that the numbers can be more complex than
they claim when migration costs are factored in.
Di Maio, who works in Gartner's Italian office, added that even as
that happens, he expects Linux to gain a much stronger foothold in
Europe in coming years. "It's growing here, most definitely," he
said. "It will keep growing, too. I think that governments need to
be more aware of what goes into the costs, but that won't stop
Linux adoptions."
Continental Drift
Although Asia and Europe have gotten attention for their
open-source moves, many other parts of the world have been
investigating Linux and other open-source systems as well.
Part of the wider Linux adoption is due to efforts from companies
like IBM, which has been busy establishing worldwide Linux centers.
Its most recent, announced this week, is in Brazil.
In conjunction with Brazil's Information Technology Institute, with
support from the country's Ministry of Culture, the center will
encourage the use of open-source solutions by professionals.
Also, the recent establishment of Software Freedom Day sparked
grassroots efforts globally to highlight the benefits of open
source and encourage greater use of Linux and other systems.
"Open source is ready to move beyond the world of geeks," said
Dwayne Bailey, founder and director of the Zuza Software
Foundation, which is translating OpenOffice into several South
African languages.
He added, "There are so many companies and individuals that want to
see open source succeed all over the world, and it's exciting to be
part of that."