Yes, Linux has made amazing strides into the mainstream. But there are still enough issues that lead me to be a bit concerned about where it is heading from the usability area. We have the command line commando crowd. Then on the flip side, we have the ‘let’s treat the users like morons’ crowd from (not going to say the company) as well. There has to be a meeting place in the middle someplace, right?

Analysts explored the expansion of Linux into the enterprise in a panel discussion Wednesday as part of Ziff Davis Media’s Enterprise Solutions virtual tradeshow.

While they agreed Linux can now be considered mainstream, it’s still rarely used to run critical applications.

“Increasingly, Linux is being considered as a viable choice,” said Dan Kusnetzky, vice president with analyst firm IDC of Framingham, Mass.

“Its predominant use is still file and Web servers. Very few are using it to support CRM [customer relationship management], ERP [enterprise resource planning] and the like; rather for specific functions.”

Paul Kirby, a research director with AMR Research in Boston, has found that 39 percent of all companies AMR surveyed are using Linux in some capacity.

While he called Linux the “clear successor to Unix,” just 25 percent of those consider Linux to be in support of mission-critical applications. [Read the rest]