The open source wave is catching up slowly and governments as well as businesses are realizing it’s power. The most well known open source software that we know about is definitely Linux. Its really a boon that such great piece of software is available to us for free. Just because of the cost advantage it is definitely a good idea to check it out before you decide to go with any setup. Here are some places which have adopted Linux over Windows.

Virgin America

According to CrunchGear, Richard Branson’s Virgin America also uses Linux to run its in-flight entertainment system. It is known to use Red Hat and Fedora and chosen specifically due to its agility and stability which was proven after four years of testing.

IBM

IBM not only started using linux but also started supporting it big time. It uses Linux on its servers as well as desktops. In 2006, IBM came up with a television commercial saying “IBM Supports Linux 100%” and made its contribution to the success of Linux. The television commercial can be still viewed here

Omaha Steaks

According to to JavaWorld this catalog oriented stake retailer shifted its operations on Linux from IBM AS/400 in 2001. They are using Linux servers in a clustered environment for serving it’s in house needs as well as running its corporate website. According to Omaha Steaks Linux is a clear winner in terms of cost as well as performance. JavaWorld explains how they have adapted this Linux, XML and Java Based solution.

Peugeot

In 2007, Novell and the Europe’s largest automobile manufacturer announced that they will be signing a multiyear contract for the deployment of 20,000 Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop installations and another 2,500 copies of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.

Amazon

After the details revealed by Amazon vice president of infrastructure Tom Killalea, it was pretty clear that how extensively Amazon has been using Linux for all parts of its operations. Killalea also added that Linux is used for 2000 basic tasks at Amazon and it has spread to more critical areas now. Amazon also sells a e-commerce system that is based on Linux and the major users of this system include National Basketball Association, Toys ‘R’ Us, The Gap and many more…

New York Stock Exchange

It is little surprising but true that even New York Stock Exchange is a business user of Linux. The huge trading platform is powered by Linux and according to a report released by InformationWeek it is doing pretty well. It was revealed in 2008 that NYSE is using Red Hat Enterprise Linux to power its trading platform.

Wikipedia

This is another strong supporter on Linux. After using Red hat and Fedora for years, in 2008, Wikipedia the biggest online encyclopedia shifted to Ubuntu in 2008. You may realize the potential that lies in Ubuntu which serves and approximate 10 billion page views a month.

Tommy Hilfiger

Linux Journal in one of its report stated that Tommy Hilfiger Corporation has chosen IBM, eOneGroup and Linux for new e-business infrastructure. The infrastructure is designed by eOneGroup an IBM business partner uses Linux to handle web based transactions.

Novell

One of the biggest software giants decided to shift to Linux from Windows for all of its employee desktop machines. The decision was out in 2006 and it took more than a year to complete the migration process

Google

Yes. The synonym of Internet also runs on Linux for all its applications and powerful cluster services that drive the Google searches. Obviously, Google will not use the standard version and use it straight away. Therefore, it came up with a customized version commonly known as “Goobuntu” inside the company for its uses. A lot of engineers and the technical staff also uses Linux frequently on their desktops.

	Saurabh Dutta
	Saurabh Dutta is the founder and author of TechChai. He writes on useful technology tips, tricks, tutorials, articles and interesting technology updates on various websites and blogs online.
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