THE CHANGING LINUX
LANDSCAPE
The cloud, community distributions and devops are dramatically
impacting the market
Trends such as cloud computing and devops – whereby application development
and deployment are merging – are driving increased use of Linux, bringing more
options, challenges and opportunities to vendors and users alike.
4 FINDINGS
• Cloud computing is changing the market for the Linux server OS, giving users additional OS and support options, including Amazon, Eucalyptus, Microsoft, Nimbula, Google, OpenStack, Oracle and others. PAGE 24 • We’ve already identified the broad presence of Linux and open source in the cloud, but Linux is particularly prominent in the merging of application development and deployment known as ‘devops.’ This positions Linux uniquely for the PaaS market. PAGE 29 • Linux distributions beyond market leaders RHEL and SLES – such as Ubuntu, CentOS and Fedora – are more prominent in the cloud, typically driven by cost, flexibility and customization factors. PAGE 25 • The continuing impact of unpaid community Linux use by enterprises is accentuated by cloud computing. PAGE 65 IMPLICATIONS
• Linux distributions that have parallel community versions see the most deployment and paid use. These include RHEL, Canonical’s Ubuntu and SLES. PAGE 25 • Additional server OS and support options from Oracle, Microsoft, Amazon and others, as well as community Linux distros, mean enterprise customers have more choice than ever. PAGE 19 • Cloud computing is keeping Linux front and center in today’s enterprise IT environment, but it’s also abstracting the type of Linux and vendor used, since cloud access blurs the lines in terms of commercial backers and paid support. PAGE 30 • Community Linux distros are often favored for cost savings and the ability to customize them, which can be crucial in the cloud. PAGE 21 • Commercial distros are still being differentiated with capabilities for performance, scalability, security, virtualization and cloud systems management, thus growing paid use of Linux. PAGE 81 BOTTOM LINE
• Cloud computing, additional competitors and choices, and the new way of developing and deploying enterprise applications known as devops are all driving and disrupting the Linux server market to bring challenges and opportunities – particularly in PaaS – to both vendors and users.Analyzing the Business of Enterprise IT Innovation
SEPTEMBER 2011
THE 451 GROUP:COMMERCIAL ADOPTION OF OPEN SOURCE
© 2011 THE 451 GROUP, LLC, TIER1 RESEARCH, LLC, AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
CAOS
COMMERCIAL
ADOPTION OF
OPEN SOURCE
REPORT SNAPSHOT
TITLE
The Changing Linux Landscape
ANALYST
Jay Lyman, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Software
RELEASE DATE
September 2011
LENGTH
42 pages
ABOUT THIS REPORT
For years the enterprise Linux market has been dominated by two versions of the OS: Red Hat Enterprise Linux and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. But significant changes are already under way, ushered in by cloud computing, wide use of other distributions such as Ubuntu, and continued use of unpaid community Linux such as CentOS and Debian. In addition, other distributions like Oracle Linux continue to evolve and grow, as do the providers of Linux support, which now include Microsoft. These additional competitors and choices, and the new way of developing and deploying enterprise applications known as ‘devops,’ are driving and disrupting the Linux server market to bring challenges and opportunities – particularly in PaaS – to both vendors and users. This report is intended for executives, developers, vendors and investors interested in learning about the latest directions and extensions of Linux, and how this changing market landscape is likely to affect their organizations. It focuses on market dynamics, including competitive analysis of various Linux distributions, analysis of adoption drivers and hurdles, and customer use cases highlighting how Linux is put to work in today’s cloud environments. Given our previous findings on the prominence of Linux and open source in cloud and mobile computing, there is no doubt that the ongoing development and competition in the Linux space have significant implications for the entire enterprise IT market.
THE CHANGING LINUX LANDSCAPE
© 2011 THE 451 GROUP, LLC, TIER1 RESEARCH, LLC, AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1
1.1 KEY FINDINGS . . . 1
1.2 METHODOLOGY . . . 2
SECTION 2: LAY OF THE LAND 4 2.1 A BRIEF HISTORY OF LINUX ON X86 HARDWARE . . . 4
2.2 THE MARKET DOMINANCE OF RHEL AND SLES . . . 4
2.3 LINUX IN CLOUD COMPUTING AND MOBILE DEVICES . . . 5
2.4 UNPAID COMMUNITY LINUX MARCHES ON . . . 6
FIGURE 1: Commercial and Community Linux . . . . 7
SECTION 3: THE PLAYERS TODAY 8 3.1 RED HAT . . . 8
3.2 SUSE . . . . 12
3.3 CANONICAL . . . . 15
3.4 ORACLE . . . . 19
3.5 CENTOS . . . . 21
SECTION 4: THE DISRUPTORS 24 4.1 CLOUD COMPUTING . . . . 24
4.2 UBUNTU IN THE CLOUD . . . . 25
4.3 UNPAID LINUX. . . . 25
FIGURE 2: Paid vs. Unpaid Linux . . . .26
4.4 MICROSOFT AND LINUX . . . . 26
SECTION 5: DRIVERS OF LINUX IN THE CLOUD 28 5.1 COST AND LICENSE MANAGEMENT . . . . 28
5.2 CUSTOMIZATION AND FLEXIBILITY . . . . 28
SECTION 6: CHALLENGES FOR LINUX 30
6.1 PAID SUPPORT . . . . 30
6.2 ADDRESSING THE MARKET . . . . 30
6.3 CONTINUED CONTRIBUTION. . . . 30
6.4 DEVOPS . . . . 31
SECTION 7: USER PERSPECTIVES 32 7.1 JACKPINE TECHNOLOGIES . . . . 32
7.2 MANCHESTER METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY . . . . 34
7.3 VANILLA FORUMS . . . . 36
FIGURE 3: The Three ‘C’s of Today’s Linux . . . .38
SECTION 8: IMPACT AND CONCLUSIONS 39 8.1 IMPLICATIONS . . . . 39 8.2 COMPETITION . . . . 40 8.3 M&A IMPLICATIONS . . . . 41 8.4 SHORT-TERM EXPECTATIONS . . . . 41 8.5 LONG-TERM EXPECTATIONS . . . . 42 INDEX OF COMPANIES 43
THE CHANGING LINUX LANDSCAPE
© 2011 THE 451 GROUP, LLC, TIER1 RESEARCH, LLC, AND/OR ITS AFFILIATES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Analyzing the Business
of Enterprise IT Innovation
ABOUT THE 451 GROUP
The 451 Group is a technology analyst company. We publish market
analysis focused on innovation in enterprise IT, and support our clients
through a range of syndicated research and advisory services. Clients
of the company — at vendor, investor, service-provider and end-user
organizations — rely on 451 insights to do business better.
ABOUT TIER1 RESEARCH
Tier1 Research covers consumer, enterprise and carrier IT services,
particularly hosting, colocation, content delivery, Internet services,
software-as-a-service and enterprise services. Tier1’s focus is on the
movement of services to the Internet — what they are, how they are
delivered and where they are going.
© 2011 The 451 Group, Tier1 Research and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved. Reproduc-tion and distribuReproduc-tion of this publicaReproduc-tion, in whole or in part, in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The terms of use regarding distribution, both internally and externally, shall be governed by the terms laid out in your Service Agreement with The 451 Group, Tier1 Research and/or its Affiliates. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. The 451 Group and Tier1 Research disclaim all warranties as to the accu-racy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Although The 451 Group and Tier1 Research may discuss legal issues related to the information technology business, The 451 Group and Tier1 Research do not provide legal advice or services and their research should not be construed or used as such. The 451 Group and Tier1 Research shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.
