Linux is no longer a new term in global IT market. It is increasingly important and attracts attention not only from technical field, but also from enterprises. Large companies are looking from more business opportunities with the use of Linux. Mean while, the job market of Linux is operating busily that thousands of IT workers are joining the industry for better career opportunities everyday. How to stand out among the cluster of Linux becomes a hot topic all around the world nowadays.

Since its birth in 1991, Linux has been gaining increasing attention from governments, enterprises and individual users. In recent years, governments including Germany, France, England, Brazil, Korea and China, have all supported, and even adopted Linux. Subsidies have been granted to a number of software development projects. All these activities help cost reduction and avoid dependence on single software provider. More well-known companies, such as IBM and Hewlette-Packard, increase investment in Linux researches, revealing a positive attitude toward Linux development. Even Microsoft, the world's dominant operating system developer, has established a special fund intending to make sure that the deals with European governments and large institutions were not won by Linux. It seems that the company has prepared for a long-term battle versus Linux.

All these evidence indicates that the significance of Linux is growing. It stretches from software engineers or administrators to global businesses and governments. At the same time, it also penetrates into our daily lives. Home electronic appliances adopting Linux as operating platform are already in the market. They include recorder, PDA, TV game console and etc. There is no way to resist such global trend of Linux out there.

Linux as an Irresistible Global Trend
"There are many companies using Linux in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan currently," said Mr. Albert Wong, CEO of Thiz Technology Group Limited which is a GEM listed Linux developer in Hong Kong. "Some of them migrated from Unix or Windows to Linux with a purpose of raising operation effectiveness and increasing competitiveness."

Currently Linux is mainly applied on server level. However, some companies are also using Linux as desktop operating system, in replace of the original platform which requires expensive license fee. Such migration saves up to several million Hong Kong dollars.

"Linux has gradually transformed from a small-circle toy of engineers to a powerful and high-value commercial tool which enhances cost effectiveness of enterprise worldwide," Mr. Wong continued. "It is a new alternative which we can definitely trust other than the prevalent platform."

Reasons Driving Enterprises to Linux
According to researches, the reasons for enterprises choosing Linux can be categorized into the followings:

Cost Effectiveness:
Linux is not cost-free, though it can be downloaded or copied free of charge. However, installation, maintenance, technical support and training would still involve money. Yet the cost of ownership of Linux is much lower than that of UNIX and Windows. It effectively saves huge amount from expensive software licenses every year.

Freedom to Choose:
There are many Linux distributions provided by different software developers around the world. There is Red Hat in the U.S., SuSE in Europe and Red Flag in China. In Hong Kong, ThizLinux. All these brands provide users with extensive choice and free them from restrictions of functionality, service conditions and charges of a particular product by one developer. The competitiveness in the industry also brings better price, and improves quality of product and service.

Flexibility to Upgrade:
Users can decide when to upgrade their software instead of being pushed by new versions or forced to pay huge amount on license or new computer hardware annually.

Guaranteed System Reliability and Security:
According to researches, most existing computer viruses purely target Winodws platforms. For instance, a worm called Blaster and its varients were designed to infectWindows users. It brought economic loss of around 40 million dollars per day recently. Comparatively, the infection number of Linux is fas less than Windows. That is why Linux is credited as the most robust, secure and stable operating system. Many large companies are using Linux as their server platform for critical tasks.

Ample Supply of Linux Professionals:
The history of Linux is over 10 years. There are uncountable resources of Linux training in the market. Many local training centers and universities, such as the City University of Hong Kong, provide Linux computer laboratories and related syllabuses ot meet the market need. Linux is no longer strange to new generation. There are many graduates specializing in Linux networking, system administration, database and more. They are capable of handling daily Linux operations.

Adequate Technical Support Services:
As users are no longer restricted by one brand or supplier, they are free to choose any support services they really need. Besides, increasing popularity of Linux makes internal support more possible. It is easy to hire a support officer who is in good command of Linux administration skills. Large companies like IBM, HP, Computer Associates and etc provide Linux support services. Local companies like Thiz Technology Group Limited also offer comprehensive solutions and support services to meet user needs.

More Opportunities in Labour Market
According to the latest market research conducted by IDC (International Data Company), the growth rate of Linux is 28.1% per annum before year 2004, which is higher than that of the general server market which is 17% annum. Linux has been turned from a minority to an icon of the free software world. It brings a vast number of opportunities to businesses and has changed the global IT industry significantly.

Different Linux developers are joining as United Linux with an aim of integrating products and sales plan. Their core mission is to promote Linux by collaboration in the industry. Meanwhile, Free Standards Group announced "Linux Standard Base" (LSB) certification project to standardize Linux operating system and related software. It helps to solve the problem of incompatibility and encourages product sales and popularity of the platform.

The user base of Linux is expanding. It stretches from server, desktop system and software development levels to home appliances. In order to lower cost and increase competitiveness, companies around the world are seeking capable technical workers. The demand on Linux specialist has dramatically increased in many international companies like IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Dell. In the Greater China region, the number of Linux related vacancies are rising in recent years. Thus, it is no doubt that Linux and related job market are expected to grow continually with a bright future.

What is Linux?
Linux operating system is a UNIX system used on personal computers. It has high stability and efficiency as well as all-round functions. It is able to accomodate concurrent access by multi-users.

People ofter refer Linux as its kernel programme, which is the core of the system. Actually, in addition to the kernel, Linux has many other elements such as package, editors, and X Windows system.

The history of Linux started in the early 1990s. The founder of Linux, Linus Torvalds, by interest wrote a computer system similar to UNIX. This is the earliest version of kernel. To share this programme with others, he put the preliminary programme onto the Internet for free download. The release attracted lots of people to download and therefore stimulated vigorous discussion. Programmers, who appreciated Linus Torvalds' programme and the open-source style, started to join in the development of the system. This allowed the Linux system to improve and mature.

Since Linux originates from the co-effort of a group of Internet users, it is totally free and open. Everyone can use or propagate Linux and its applications freely as long as he or she agree to follow all terms and conditions stated in the GNU General Public License.

LSB - A Recognized Quality Standard for Linux Industry
FSG is a non-profitable organization of Linux industry with the mission to accelerate the application and popularity of open-source software by promoting professionally recognized standards. Linux Standard Base (LSB) is a quality standard of Linux system which ensures the compatibility of Linux products developed by different providers. All applications that reach LSB are able to run on various Linux distributions. RedHat from the U.S., SuSE and United Linux from Europe, ThizLinus Desktop 7.0, which is the first in Hong Kong and Asia, have been certified with LSB 1.3.