As makers of proprietary software enter the enterprise Linux fray with their own distributions, they are contributing to the fragmentation of Linux, reports Kushal Shah
Ever since Richard Stallman started his GNU project in late 1983, it’s been a free world out there for consumers but not really for enterprise Linux users owing to the services and support fees that they need to shell out. Over the years, there has been a Linux overdose of choice for consumers and that trend is now picking up on the enterprise front as well with some of the major proprietary software players jumping on the Linux bandwagon. For consumers, Linux being free, this was not a big deal and most did not bother about the fragmentation issue. However, when it comes to a paid version for the enterprise segment, CIOs will be worried about the growing number of distros.
The enterprise Linux market, which was predominantly dominated by two players, Novell and Red Hat, is starting to look a bit crowded with Oracle releasing its own distribution. Even the consumer favorite, Ubuntu, is trying to make a splash in the enterprise segment with its latest offerings.
More choice
With more than 300 active distributions (distros), Linux is on a roll. Linux distros primarily differ in terms of features since they are built on variants of the same kernel (32-bit/64-bit; with various features of the kernel enabled or disabled).
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Ever since Richard Stallman started his GNU project in late 1983, it’s been a free world out there for consumers but not really for enterprise Linux users owing to the services and support fees that they need to shell out. Over the years, there has been a Linux overdose of choice for consumers and that trend is now picking up on the enterprise front as well with some of the major proprietary software players jumping on the Linux bandwagon. For consumers, Linux being free, this was not a big deal and most did not bother about the fragmentation issue. However, when it comes to a paid version for the enterprise segment, CIOs will be worried about the growing number of distros.
The enterprise Linux market, which was predominantly dominated by two players, Novell and Red Hat, is starting to look a bit crowded with Oracle releasing its own distribution. Even the consumer favorite, Ubuntu, is trying to make a splash in the enterprise segment with its latest offerings.
More choice
With more than 300 active distributions (distros), Linux is on a roll. Linux distros primarily differ in terms of features since they are built on variants of the same kernel (32-bit/64-bit; with various features of the kernel enabled or disabled).
Discuss
Add this link to...
Tell a friend
Bury
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