Enterprise 2004 Round Up: Linux Gains Acceptance in India

Seven leading Indian enterprises have decided to port their Oracle applications software and development work on Linux. These include blue-chip names like BSNL, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, South Asian Petrochem Ltd, Kotak Mahindra Bank, IDBI Bank, Central Bank of India and Department of Treasury Government of West Bengal.

With Linux emerging as a popular platform for developing Oracle applications, senior industry people believe that 2004 might be the year of Linux in India. Banking, government and education sectors are expected to lead the adoption of Linux to run mission critical applications. Says K Raghuraman, GM, Central Bank of India, "By using Linux we estimate 20-30% savings on our total IT investments annually. That will amount to Rs 2 crore in savings."

Adds Amitabh Pandey, group GM (IT Services), IRCTC, "We were looking for a platform capable of handling our complex and varied business needs. It also had to be cost effective. Oracle E-Business Suite and Red Hat Linux was a perfect fit."

Says Shirish Gariba, Head-IT, Elbee Express, "For both our bread and butter parcel tracking application as well as our e-logistics network, in alliance with Rediff, we were looking for a more scalable platform and Linux fitted the bill perfectly."

No wonder, IDC predicts that in APAC, only amongst enterprises, Linux would have a CAGR of 17.9% over 4 years, from $5 million in 2003 to $10 million in 2007. And not surprisingly most CIOs agree that other than China, the largest portion of this adoption would take place in India Inc. only.