Oracle's Leanings Are Tipping Point for Linux

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radarhunter

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Linux will become the dominant operating system (OS) for Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) Latest News about Oracle databases by 2007, displacing Solaris, according to a recent survey from the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUC) -- but just by a smidge.

Forty-four percent will run on Linux by then, versus 43 percent on Solaris.

Of the users who responded to the survey, 34 percent planned database migrations in the coming year.

"This forecast marks a definitive tipping point for Linux," trumpeted the press release.

Waiting for an Implosion

OK, but of the 14,500 Oracle DBAs the survey was e-mailed to, the IOUG received only 812 "usable" responses, or a whopping 5.6 percent. So what kind of systemic bias might be baked into this result?

Maybe only the Linux enthusiasts responded? Maybe the Solaris folks had no systems issues that day and went to the beach?

Although not a great sign for Sun -- especially if, as rumored, Oracle adds a Linux distributor to its stack -- the real story here is how fast commoditization is happening. One by one, the great proprietary software franchises are coming under intense pressure from low-cost alternatives.

Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT) Latest News about Red Hat acquiring JBoss will surely speed this process. Who knows how fast a big franchise can implode when a tipping point is reached? It will be interesting to see.
The Google Enterprise Effect, Take II

Meanwhile, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) Latest News about Google is making enterprise Quintum VoIP access solutions: Integrated intelligence, nonstop call quality, easy remote management and lower TCO. IT news again. You've seen how that company has changed the world in our personal lives -- how did we ever do celebrity photo searches before Google, anyway? Now, Google's wading deeper into enterprise IT, pushing past its initial appliance offering.

Essentially, Google has expanded its abilities to look into enterprise applications and pull out data based on keyword searches. According to a recent AMR Research Latest News about AMR Research report, "The Google Push," the search giant may be making a play to become the presentation layer for critical enterprise data, potentially disintermediating enterprise software vendors.

The new version of the Google Search Appliance, notes AMR, is a big improvement -- extending its reach into various structured and unstructured data sources, integrating more cohesively with enterprise security infrastructure, and improving performance -- and the Googlers aren't expected to stop there.
Making BI, CRM, ERP More Accessible

"Google recognizes the importance of the end-user point of view, both as the source of its own success in the consumer market and the obstacle to success of many enterprise systems," writes AMR's Jim Murphy, the report's author.

In particular, AMR sees opportunities to add value in making business intelligence Turn your next prospect into a sale. Free white paper., CRM and ERP Latest News about enterprise resource planning deployments more accessible and usable.

To do so, Google will need strong enterprise partners to lend it enterprise credibility, AMR argues, including SIs and software vendors. Why would these partners want to let Google take the presentation layer away from them, I wonder?

Google must also change perceptions about security and privacy. I recently lunched with a group of large-enterprise CIOs when the topic of Google's new enterprise capabilities came up. "I'd love to have better enterprise search," said one CIO, "but I'm not gonna let anybody store my data outside my firewall to do it."

Personally, I'd love to see Google make some headway in the enterprise. I think it would have the same effect it's having on Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) Latest News about Yahoo and Microsoft: better services, lower prices and better support.
 
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