Migrate Business Software to Open Source Systems

How Amazon puts Linux to the test -- News.com, January 22, 2004 "Amazon began to use Linux in 2000 for basic tasks. It then spread to more critical areas, notably the company's database. Moving to Linux had cut costs by $17 million in 2001. By the holiday season of 2003, Amazon's computers supported a heavy load, with peak demand of 1 million packages shipped in a day and 20 million inventory updates processed in a single day. The company has nine worldwide distribution centers with a total of 4.2 million square feet. "Everything that happens in them is driven by Linux."

"2003 was a distinguished year for the early adoption of enterprise Linux. 2004 will be the year that virtually every business will have to consider Linux as a viable enterprise platform. Last year's Linux deployments are enabling companies of all sizes, spanning all industries to reap the benefits of a stable, efficient operating system on low cost servers. These references will play a big role in showcasing the significant benefits of Linux to the more reluctant, conservative players. Also, Linux has proven to be very solid for mid-range deployments. We are seeing a strong push toward the really high-end workhorses. The big iron systems are running on Linux or alternatively - clusters of Linux systems are replacing big, monolithic servers."
-- Linux in 2004, LinuxWorld.com, January 1, 2004

To migrate your business software is to copy, "port" or rewrite your business software using Open Source Software (OSS) tools and languages, like Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP/Perl (LAMP). There are many other languages and tools to choose from as well.

The costs are strictly limited to developing your unique business processes, there are absolutely no costs to purchase OSS. In fact, the costs are greatly reduced because there are no expenses related to the server or desktop operating system, the database, web server or development languages! Upgrades are free, except for the usual costs of a system administrator installing the software.

The benefits far outweigh the costs:

• ALL the software, from the operating system to your business applications, is yours to modify and improve;
• You have the freedom to choose which OSS tools and languages are best suited for your applications, and to switch at any time as your needs grow;
• There are a huge number of OSS specialists locally and around the world who can help with your software needs at any time;