Most Document Technology Firms Shun Linux
by Gordon E.J. Hoke

The Linux operating system is the darling of developers, Internet Service Providers, and investors in high technology. It is largely ignored in the world of documents. Despite strong interest amongst database developers and a standing-room-only keynote address by Linux progenitor Linus Torvalds at last year’s AIIM International conference, the freeware operating system makes barely a blip on the AIIM membership radar screen.

“Linux has all kinds of technological advantages,” explains Dan Elam, a partner in eVisory Consulting (www.eVisoryconsulting.com). “From that perspective, it should be widely preferred, but that is not going to happen because the business users are the ones who drive the purchase of technology. The IT guys [who might favor Linux] have some influence, but they don’t make the decision about what application to buy. The business guys choose the business applications, which include imaging, ERM, and others. But Linux isn’t used for applications yet. Linux is used to do black box stuff like web hosting and specialized serving.”

Many vendors have taken a wait-and-see attitude. Some claim, “We are customer-driven,” and wait for a hue and cry from end users for Linux-based solutions. That, however, is unlikely to happen in the near future. Despite having manifold technological advantages over Windows NT and Unix, there are disadvantages as well. Elam cites several:
• Linux is not used for applications yet.
• Linux is not a single product.
• Qualified Linux developers are harder to find.
• Training users is an obstacle.
• There are no legacy applications in Linux.

ComSquared Systems <www.comsquared.com> is an integrated document solutions provider and developer of UNISearch software. Vice-president Robert Haverstick details why his company is omitting Linux from its development plans: “ComSquared's solutions are critical to our customers' operations. We can’t afford to deploy them on any technology that is not enterprise ready or where we can not get immediate support for any operating system issue. While we see companies positioning themselves to support their flavor of Linux, we do not feel comfortable planning production-class systems around it.”

Generally, software companies concentrate their resources on issues that are more immediate and compelling. At a time when finding qualified developers is difficult and some staffs operate short-handed, it is challenging enough to develop new software versions that include needed capabilities. Developing Linux applications is a luxury few can afford.

Tom Koulopoulos, president of Delphi Consulting <www.delphigroup.com> says he has nothing against Linux, but, “for Document Management companies, repositioning into the e-business space has far greater importance and urgency than just about anything else on their radar.”

There are exceptions. Magellan Software <www.magsoft.com> offers its client software for a Linux server. Magellan recently installed an integrated accounting-document solution running under Linux at Madera County, California

IntraNet Solutions (NASDAQ:INRS) <www.intranetsolutions.com> has also added Linux to its stable of applications. IntraNet was schedule to ship its Web publishing and content management software for Red Hat Linux on April 1. “We have between seven and eight hundred customers, and many were asking for Linux,” intones Dan Ryan, vice-president of marketing and business development. “We have moved more to pure Web content management, and the people responsible for that are more oriented toward Linux than the average document management person. Our customers see it as an advantage. People want to run Linux. We may be a little ahead of the curve, but we feel there will be an adoption of the Linux technology.”

Ryan notes that neither the market nor the operating system are static. “Everything we need for our application is on Linux now, but it wasn’t there a couple of years ago.” Nonetheless, IntraNet Solutions is not depending solely on Linux for its success. Products Xpedio and Intra.doc! also flourish under Windows NT and Sun’s Solaris flavor of Unix.

Magellan and IntraNet Solutions remains the exception, not the rule. As Elam concludes, “Most Linux applications today are of secondary concern. No one [in document technologies] is putting mission-critical work on Linux. The skills just aren’t there. Everyone knows something about how to use NT, but it takes a real propeller-head to make Linux work.”