Today, there are many recommendations on the table from the proponents of open systems. These include making open standards a non-negotiable base for IT in the public sector, encouraging government agencies and public institutions to use open source software, and allowing open software to compete on a level playing field with proprietary alternatives in government software procurement.
Open source software, such as the Linux operating system, is maturing at a fast rate. In fact, Linux is poised to assist the architects of open systems to achieve all these objectives, and more, in 2004.
Linux supporters come from a broad cross-section of the business and commercial sectors. They include systems technologists, financial experts and business systems consultants. Each group has its own reasons for backing the open source movement.
For example, from the technologist`s perspective, Linux evolutions are now fully capable of delivering the functionality of the most popular proprietary systems and, through the enthusiasm of their developers, are able to cement themselves in the backbones of companies across the complete spectrum of market segments - from telecoms to banking.
New Linux kernels are being developed at a steady rate and are adding strength and stability to existing Linux applications and infrastructures - from data centres to wireless networking topologies.
An important industry event was Microsoft`s indication of its withdrawal of support for its NT operating systems. This has added strong support for the Linux movement among users of these systems.
For example, support has come from many corporate financial managers who have been quick to identify the opportunity to replace NT with Linux on existing hardware infrastructures - even mainframes computers - at very low cost.
After all, the alternatives - a new server-based or similar solution running Unix - would be more expensive, if not prohibitive, for most organisations.
Linux application and support services vendors have also been alerted to this opportunity and many companies are now actively promoting their abilities to support migrations to the operating system. The Linux market has come alive.
How will this impact our future?
Even non-technical decision-makers have recognised the value of a Linux-based business proposition. They can put all the elements in place to run their businesses - technical support, on-going maintenance and the hardware base - at very low cost.
There is also the time factor to consider. A migration to a Linux OS can be achieved with minimal disruptions and downtime because there are no complexities to be worked out. Moreover, compatibility with mainframe, server-based and, to a lesser extent, desktop environments present mere headaches rather than deifying challenges.
The widespread acceptance of Linux is a fact. At its root has been a significant paradigm shift by the business community from the proprietary, commercially-oriented world, to one in which the sharing of technology is the norm.
The idea of a move away from a software environment in which intellectual capital (such as source code) is a highly prized secret, to one where it is freely shared among like-minded people, has been eagerly adopted.
And, most importantly, the leap away from a business environment in which every software upgrade, patch or enhancement carries a hefty price tag, to one where the operating system kernel - and all upgrades and developments - can be downloaded free off the Web, is being taken on a daily basis by many of SA`s key decision-makers.
It is the big business benefits of this "openness" - returns on investment in business terms - that are driving the open movement forwards.
The broadening of its horizons has also come about as a result of the strides made by Linux developers in areas such as data security, support for good governance and best business practices and, for ISO 9000 companies, IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) service delivery.
If there is any downside to the Linux revolution, it is that the focus is on back-end systems with little movement in the desktop arena.
But the future is bright nevertheless. Political squabbling between open source vendors is being settled, standards are being put into place, the vulnerabilities that existed have been identified and addressed and, as noted, significant levels of maturity have been reached.
Finally, the economic climate in SA is right for a significant uptake of Linux technologies. There is growing business confidence, buoyed by a positive budget speech, and a strong rand. And there has been a noticeable acceleration in the procurement cycle in many industries.
This means that companies will be looking for new software solutions to meet changing business objectives.
But it will also mean that the high cost of new software licences will be called into question by astute businessmen who realise the implications of long-term commitments to fixed foreign currency costs.
Software vendors such as Computer Associates (CA) have realised that the only element missing is the management of the Linux development process. Underlying technologies have been adopted - and new ones developed - to help with the management of e-business no matter what the platform.
By providing this support, which often includes the hardware infrastructure, change and configuration management, at a faction of the cost of a proprietary system vendor, the floodgates have finally been opened for the open source tidal wave to reach the South African market.
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