Claim: Desktop Linux now "mainstream" in the enterprise

[Sporkman]

A steady stream of manufacturers are requesting Linux drivers for their hardware, suggesting growing adoption of Linux operating systems among enterprises...

Kroah-Hartman said Linux has reached mainstream status on the desktop, at least on the enterprise space. "There are very large companies that are well known users of Linux in this manner: all of the movie companies, Ford, Peugeot, all of the Wall Street companies, almost all banks [and] the stock exchanges," he said.

In spite of this, Linux has gained a bad rap within some consumer circles for being difficult to use, or to some, a new ground that consumers are not interested venturing into...

http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62056924,00.htm?scid=rss_z_nw

[phrostbyte]

I've never seen a real enterprise deployment of Linux on the desktop. I'd love to be able to work on something like that personally.

Well I am talking about Linux as a desktop on a massive scale (10,000+ computers). We really need some big government agency flush with cash to push something like this forward, I think. The private industry doesn't like to take risks like that.

[toupeiro]

I've never seen a real enterprise deployment of Linux on the desktop. I'd love to be able to work on something like that personally.

Well I am talking about Linux as a desktop on a massive scale (10,000+ computers). We really need some big government agency flush with cash to push something like this forward, I think. The private industry doesn't like to take risks like that.

I support an internationally sized companies linux desktop deployment in one specific region. Does that count as enterprise?

I find it interesting that people think that because it may not be on the most systems within a company that its not mainstream. FreeBSD and OpenSolaris, I would say, are not mainstream desktop solutions in the enterprise.. I'm willing to bet all of the top ten companies in the US have linux desktops deployed in some capacity, and its usually in the places that can afford to be interrupted the least; the desktop solutions that are closest to that companies payload. To me, that makes the linux desktop mainstream in relation to enterprise use. To say its not mainstream would be to say that only a small handful of enterprise companies have a business use for linux desktops at all, therefore do not run them. I very highly doubt, based on what I've seen and/or supported, that is the case.

[Lucretius]

I've never seen a real enterprise deployment of Linux on the desktop. I'd love to be able to work on something like that personally.

Well I am talking about Linux as a desktop on a massive scale (10,000+ computers). We really need some big government agency flush with cash to push something like this forward, I think. The private industry doesn't like to take risks like that.

Does the french government and police force not now use ubuntu linux?

I'm sure they are not going to be the last to switch over

[toupeiro]

Does the french government and police force not now use ubuntu linux?

I'm sure they are not going to be the last to switch over

http://customers.redhat.com/2007/10/15/federal-aviation-administration/

U.S. F.A.A. is also a redhat shop.. yeah... absolutely not mainstream enterprise. :P /sarcasm

[phrostbyte]

I support an internationally sized companies linux desktop deployment in one specific region. Does that count as enterprise?

I find it interesting that people think that because it may not be on the most systems within a company that its not mainstream. FreeBSD and OpenSolaris, I would say, are not mainstream desktop solutions in the enterprise.. I'm willing to bet all of the top ten companies in the US have linux desktops deployed in some capacity, and its usually in the places that can afford to be interrupted the least; the desktop solutions that are closest to that companies payload. To me, that makes the linux desktop mainstream in relation to enterprise use. To say its not mainstream would be to say that only a small handful of enterprise companies have a business use for linux desktops at all, therefore do not run them. I very highly doubt, based on what I've seen and/or supported, that is the case.

That's pretty cool. When I worked as a student sysadmin I managed a small Ubuntu Linux lab. My boss gave me free reign to do whatever I want to the Linux lab. I remember being so eager to go to work everyday and try something new, I've never had a feeling like that yet at any place of employment. :D

[jrusso2]

I have worked in IT at several fortune 500 corporations and none had any Linux desktops.

[pwnst*r]

^Same. I'm in my 3rd 500 corporation, my current being is ranked in the top 30. No sign of linux desktops here either.

[RiceMonster]

I've worked for 2 fortune 500 corporations. At the last one, two of the Solaris/Linux admins I worked with used Ubuntu on their desktop. Nobody of else I saw used it, not even the majority of the Solaris/Linux admins.

[ratcheer]

I hope the article is correct, but I have not seen Linux on any corporate desktop, yet. In fact, my company has a very strong policy against it. I do have a Solaris 10 desktop, though, in addition to a Win XP (on separate machines).

Tim

[Zoot7]

There are places where it is "mainstream" such as Design Engineers for large commericial semiconductor companies, the preferred platform tends to be either Linux or Solaris.
But such places are very much in the minority.

[jwbrase]

There's also the difference between the US and Europe. I'm doing an exchange year at a university in Germany that has about a half-and-half mixture of CentOS and XP machines deployed in the library. The machines I've worked with in the computer labs are triple boot, CentOS, XP, and one other Linux distro I've forgotten.

My home university in the States, however, has only XP and OS X machines that I've seen.