Apache - On the Warpath
Apache is a free open source Web server that runs on most operating systems. It has been taking market share from Microsoft's Web server (and others) since 1995.
It's not like Microsoft hasn't tried to take over this market. Users have found Apache to be easier to implement, more secure and more reliable than its competitors in the marketplace. It is also more reparable when there are problems (after all, you have the source code) - and, most of all, it is free.
Operating Systems - Linux and FreeBSD
The largest and most successful software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers have all chosen free open source operating systems such as Linux or FreeBSD as their primary platforms for serving their high performance Web sites.
Large, Successful SaaS Providers Choice of Operating Systems 
Source: Netcraft.com
These companies absolutely cannot afford downtime. They have plenty of money; they aren't choosing Linux because it's free.
Red Hat is a company that sells services and support for the Linux operating system. They have annual sales of $257 million, and their five-year stock chart shows substantial growth.
Source: Yahoo.com
How does a company that gives away its products show this kind of revenue growth? Basically, they sell support and other services to large enterprises who are converting from Windows and Unix servers to Linux.
A few years ago, Apple Computer released OS X, which is essentially code added to the FreeBSD operating system. If you have a Mac, you have a free open source operating system under the hood. Their five-year stock chart is even more impressive than Red Hat's, although surely the iPod has something to do with that. Companies such as Apple Computer and Red Hat that are embracing open source in one way or another are succeeding in the marketplace because of it.
Source: Yahoo.com
As for the future, Linux is looking strong.
Advisory services predict that Linux's market share of the server market will grow from 19 to 26 percent by 2010. Additionally, Linux will have the strongest relative growth of any server operating system, including server operating systems from Microsoft. Shipments will increase from 1.4 million units in 2005 to 2.4 million in 2010. Revenue will grow to $11.5 billion by 2010.
A Free Database Server?
PostgreSQL is an open source database server that had 1.2 million downloads in 2005 alone and has recently received commercial support from Pervasive Software, the original makers of Btrieve. PostgreSQL is a free object-relational database. It offers an alternative to proprietary systems such as Oracle, Sybase, IBM's DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server. Similar to other open source projects such as Apache and Linux, PostgreSQL is not controlled by any single company, but instead relies on a global community of developers and companies to develop it. PostgreSQL is very stable and bug-free.
Why the Open Source Movement is So Powerful
Software is ultimately composed of congealed ideas; therefore, ideas are very important in the minds of software developers. The key to market power in the software industry lies in the minds of developers. Fashion plays a role; some ideas are fashionable and some are not. The idea, or philosophy, of open source is powerful, frictionless and seductive. And, like the "little black dress" in the clothing world, open source may just stay fashionable forever.
Open source software (OSS) is software that permits the use and modification of its source code by anyone. By definition, it has certain characteristics:
- Free redistribution: The software can be freely given away or sold. This makes for frictionless idea transmission.
- Source code: The source code must either be included or freely obtainable.
- Derived works: Redistribution of modifications must be allowed.
Apache is an open source Web server. PostgreSQL is an open source database server. Linux and FreeBSD are open source operating systems. There are many other examples, from applications to infrastructure. The philosophy associated with the term "open source" emphasizes collaborative development. This philosophy tends to quickly gain developer mind share. Microsoft is visibly concerned about Linux's upsurge.
Mistakenly released internal Microsoft emails provide obvious testimony of this concern: "OSS poses a direct, short-term revenue and platform threat to Microsoft, particularly in server space. Additionally, the intrinsic parallelism and free idea exchange in OSS has benefits that are not replicable with our current licensing model and therefore present a long-term developer mind share threat."
OSS developers benefit from a reduction in the friction-to-idea exchange that commercial enterprises engender through the use of lawyers, contracts and payments. They experiment with new tools immediately instead of paying for legally licensed access to technologies.
OSS is winning the minds of developers - and that is precious real estate.
How Small Businesses Can Use Open Source Today
Rolling out Linux in your company can confer advantages. Namely, it's cheap, fast and is less prone to worms and viruses. The most common uses for Linux today in small businesses are server-based. Linux machines make good file servers, print servers, database servers and Web servers. Open source software has been more successful thus far in infrastructure software than in applications software.
