Linux is definitely evolving and becoming a major part of the big business world.  Linux and the Cloud are gaining steam and open source is leading the way.  According to the Tech Crunch news article “The State Of Linux — How Even Apple Is Going Open Source” even Apple is getting in on the game.   Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation made sure to point out the importance of open source in the enterprise world at CloudOpen.  According to Zemlin:

Apple – one of the most closed companies in the world – is actually using lots of Open Source software.   Apple purchased the copyright to the Common Unix Printing System (CUPS), which now is on every Linux and Apple system.

Apple isn’t the only big name turning to open source and points out a comical yet interesting fact about Microsoft.

Microsoft, which once equated open source with communism, is now a top contributor to the Linux Kernel project.

One of the most powerful quotes from the article sums things all up in a nutshell.

So if you are going to master software you must master open source. You can’t do it otherwise. There is no way to succeed in a services world without it.

Companies such as VMware are also making strides in the Open Source world.  They recently asked to join the OpenStack community as they look to forge an Open Source relationship.  Other companies such as LucidWorks demonstrate how open source and enterprise can go hand-in-hand.  As the IT software arena continues to grow only time will tell how open source and the Cloud will change the game.

April Holmes, October 1, 2012

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