IBM, Novell, Red Hat and the likes reveling in Vista’s slow adoption
The slow enterprise adoption for Vista has created an opportunity for competing business-level OSs to shine. Solutions for IBM and Linux-based systems will start to be pre-loaded on packaged PC sales along with Linux-based word processing and collaboration tools. Or, so they hope. Their idea is to show enterprise that there are suitable alternatives to Windows. Can they do it?
According to eWeek, IBM has made some strategic moves to better position itself as a Windows fighter. Most importantly; IBM, Cononical, Novell, and Red Hat are joining forces with their corresponding hardware partners to deliver so-called "Microsoft-free desktops" worldwide. In addition, IBM has introduced a new hardware line aimed at small to mid-size business that have the "do-it-yourself" attitude.
All the respective Linux-based companies have fine-tuned their operating systems to work with Lotus Notes and Symphony together to create an all-in-one solution similar to Windows. The four companies will distribute preloaded PCs that feature IBM’s "Open Collaboration Client Solution" which includes Lotus Sametime- the Linux operating system of each distributor, with software applications and installation services from the local partners in each of their respective markets. All in all it’s a great initiative to beat Microsoft at enterprise. Though a large undertaking, I think their time is right.
The idea is to brand these custom PCs for customers in specific business sectors. As an example, a government-based PC could feature key ISV applications for document and case management, crisis management, and citizen services, while PCs for schools could offer a low-cost open platform that could use Lotus collaboration and social-networking software.
The timing obviously couldn’t be any better for a collaboration of open source companies to finally take on Microsoft. Now the only question is whether Microsoft’s push to cloud-based computing will be the right move to position itself back on top. Will open source go in the same direction?
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August 9th, 2008
It’s not just in business that Linux is rushing in to fill the Vista non-adoption vacuum, a fact to which this quote from a UK publication attests: “The number of machines shipped with Linux preloaded on them has multiplied a whopping 28 times since Microsoft launched its Vista operating system in January 2007″
For the full article, see: http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/08/01/linux-preloads-rocket-per-cent
Twenty-eight times!!! This is the sort of news that must be giving Microsoft executives nightmares, particularly when they know full well that it is just the tip of the iceberg, the bulk of which is made up of Vista being over-written post-delivery. (For my part, I have recently taken delivery of eleven PCs with Vista installed; of these five are now running Red Hat Enterprise Linux, one is running Fedora Linux, and five are running XP).
In addition, it is expected that by 2013, 20% of mobile phones and 23% of MIDs (mobile Internet devices), will be running Linux, with the Linux share of the MID market projected to be bigger than that of any other OS, including Windows Mobile.
It really makes you wonder how the Microsoft people can keep a straight face when they say “we’ve shipped 180 million copies of Vista”. Maybe they should eat some humble pie, bite the bullet, and base the next version of Windows on the GNU/Linux kernel. How about “Windux” as a catchy name to inspire the marketing types?