Open-Source was considered only for the ultra-geeks in the olden days, but not any more, as Linux is being adopted by more enterprises. A survey conducted by the Linux Foundation and Yeoman Technology Group brings out some very interesting facts about the corporate world’s server choice.

The survey shows an inclination towards open-source. Decision makers are deploying Linux servers (76.4%) and Linux Operating Systems (79.4%) more than ever before. Also, Linux is being used for more mission critical tasks. This shift will effect the market share of the other major competitor Microsoft. Here are some findings with facts and figures as quoted by the  Linux Foundation report:

• Cloud adoption is surprisingly low, with only 26% planning on moving applications/ services to the cloud in the coming 12 months. Not surprisingly, Linux dominates when moving to the cloud, with 70.3% using Linux as their primary cloud platform.
• 86.5% of respondents feel Linux continues to improve.
• The perception of Linux by management has shifted, with nearly 60% reporting that their CIO sees Linux as more strategic to the organization as compared to three years ago.
• These trends are leading companies to increasingly seek Linux IT professionals, with 38.3% of respondents citing a lack of Linux talent as one of their main concerns related to the platform.

The growing trend for enterprises to adopt open-source technology is not surprising. This is mainly because the industry has had time to compound knowledge and software around it, it’s more usable for businesses. It’s kind of like Google Docs getting enough features to compete with Microsoft Word and a business saying “OK, Google Docs is free, and they’re good enough to use for my purposes. Why pay for Microsoft?”

The natural implication that comes to mind is the decrease in prices to make software more affordable. But, then again, the whole deal depends on the quality of  open-source alternatives, which is pretty good. But the real question is; is it good enough?  The cloud industry as a whole is following a similar path. More public options are becoming available as viable options for the enterprise, with companies like Cloudera targeting the sector with Hadoop and other projects.