MESSAGE
| DATE | 2006-02-23 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] HP on GNU/Linux
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By Martin Fink, vice president and general manager of the HP Open Source
& Linux Organization and HP NonStop Enterprise Division
During the dot-com boom of the 1990s, the cost-saving advantages of the
Linux® operating system introduced the enterprise to open source
software. Service providers were drawn to Linux because they could
deploy low-cost servers running an operating system with UNIX-like
capabilities, without dealing with costly licensing fees, then pass
those savings on to their customers. It was clearly a win-win situation.
What was not so clear was how long it would take open source software to
move deeper into the data center. Today, when we say “open source,” most
people still think principally of Linux. Indeed, deploying Linux to
support edge-of-network applications is the typical starting point for
enterprises interested in open source. But open source is about much
more than just Linux, and the debate about its future in the enterprise
is, for the most part, over.
>From Infrastructure to Applications
Already, the open source ecosystem has evolved from an independent
community that appealed primarily to academic and government
institutions to touch equipment manufacturers, independent software
vendors and commercial IT developers as well. Many enterprises around
the world now depend on open source code in their database and
middleware layers. What Linux has accomplished in the low-end UNIX®
space, open source programs such as JBoss and MySQL are increasingly
doing for more complex business applications.
What does this mean for your business? In a word: choice. If you haven’t
already begun to implement open source in your enterprise, let me tell
you why you should.
Collaboratively developed open source code gives organizations an
alternative to commercial and proprietary software. This alternative can
lead to faster development and less expensive implementations. Some IT
organizations hesitate to move forward with open source because they
have questions about their ability to manage, integrate and support it.
But as vendors recognize their customers’ desire to lower total cost of
ownership and increase flexibility with open source software, they are
doing more to ease management, integration and support, making these
concerns less of an issue.
Choice Expands to Services and
Support
With proprietary software, customers are tied to particular vendors for
support. But open source software is developed, maintained and updated
by a community of developers and licensed so that source code is
available to anyone. The result is that support and services can, in
theory, be supplied by anyone.
Generally, enterprises can get support for open source software from:
* Their own in-house talent
* A company that specializes in a particular open source project
* A large one-stop-shop vendor
* A combination of these three options
Self-support might be an attractive choice if it saves enterprises
money, because for the first time, the transparent nature of open source
software makes self-support a viable option.
But enterprises may lack the in-house skills to support open source
themselves. Other organizations—even those with adequate in-house
know-how—may not want to support an open source application
infrastructure that combines open source components from numerous
suppliers, each with varying degrees of support. These concerns can
cause CIOs and IT managers to postpone open source deployments that
could benefit the company’s bottom line.
One solution to this problem could be working with a single, large
vendor that offers integrated solutions, including all components and
services. HP has extensive industry-specific experience designing,
delivering and managing open source solutions. In addition in many
countries, HP provides 24x7 support for most components of the open
source stack with more than 65,000 trained service professionals and
70,000 service provider experts worldwide. By turning to HP, enterprises
have a single point of accountability. They don’t have to support their
own solutions or patch together support from several smaller companies.
HP also can work with enterprises that prefer to get support from
multiple companies or provide some of it themselves. In addition,
customers can rest easy because HP offers indemnification against
litigation initiated by The SCO Group (a UNIX company formerly known as
Caldera)—a safeguard not offered by any other hardware vendor.
Linux Reference Architectures Remove
the Guesswork
The other big question that CIOs and IT managers have is whether the
open source software they purchase will work. Without knowing for sure,
investing in open source can be a gamble. In order to make an informed
decision, they need to have the confidence that the building blocks will
work together as planned.
To mitigate risk and increase return on Linux and open source
investments, HP has tested and compiled software components into
solutions called Linux Reference Architectures (LRA). HP works with
other companies—including BEA, JBoss, MySQL and Oracle®—to make LRA
solutions available and to provide capabilities in many countries for
the products and services customers need for their open source
deployments.
The move to open source is happening now, and it will continue as the
developer community creates software that progresses further into the
data center. Along with this progression, IT organizations will enjoy
more choice: for software, service and support. But the only way to
derive value from open source is ask the tough questions in advance.
(See the “IT Manager’s Checklist,” below, for open source project
planning tips.) With HP, enterprises can confidently take advantage of
that choice—and reap the cost savings and flexibility afforded by open
source software today.
Ready to take the next step? Begin by exploring the wealth of open
source information at http://www.opensource.hp.com/ and then read the IT
Manager's OPen Source Checklist below. You can also sign up for the
Linux edition of the Technology at Work e-newsletter.
Succeeding with Open
Source: A checklist for
how to plan for and
derive value from an
open source
implementation
Introducing open source
into an enterprise IT
environment can be an
exciting yet challenging
endeavor. Plan for
success by following
these steps.
1. Develop a
well-defined
business and IT
strategy
2. Develop an
architecture
plan that
supports the
strategy and
addresses:
- Service
Oriented
Architecture
- Application
modernization/rationalization
- IT
consolidation
- Security
- Management
3. Establish
success criteria
for the project
4. Develop an open
source approach
based on the
target
architecture
that covers:
- Open source
strategic
guidelines
- Open source
compliance/governance program
5. Develop criteria
for proprietary
and open source
software
selection,
including:
-
Availability of
trained staff,
both in-house
and outsourced
- Software
and open source
maturity
- Support
model for
proprietary and
open source
components
6. Develop an
integration plan
for software
components
7. Develop a
support plan for
the project
8. Build and test
integrated
stacks
9. Create a
lifecycle
management plan
10. Deploy solution
and monitor
results
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