Linux, Windows, DOS... or What?
At the recent Celent Insurance CIO Panel, Analyst Matt Josefowicz noted that when it comes to insurers migrating away from legacy systers, Linux is becoming a more important element, along with Windows.
Linux, for those readers who haven't heard, is a free, open source operating system that runs on several hardware platforms. It's free price tag and flexibility to run on a variety of platforms, including PCs and Macintoshes, have made it a very popular alternative to paid operating systems.
Mr. Josefowicz noted that while there hasn't been a tremendous shift, Linux currently makes up about 5 percent of the insurance IT infrastructure, with some larger insurers using it for 15 to 20 percent of their infrastructure. Still, he added, carriers are not unplugging or sunsetting their older systems in most cases, although "some functionality is being moved."
What's your take? No one can argue with the price tag and flexibility offered by Linux, yet the wealth of features and promise offered by operating systems such as the just-introduced Windows Vista are also a significant draw. Does Linux have a future, or will it be just another niche platform championed by a few devotees crying in the wilderness?
Comments (3)
I think linux defintly has its place. We see more and more appliances that have linux as its underlying OS. I think this trend will contiunue. I have a hard time thinking that desktops will be replaced by linux at any time in the near future but I feel that large inroads are being made. We use Linux thin clients to connect to Microsoft Terminal Servers and have very few issues with these devices. I think the day of full blown desktops for every user in a corporation is nearing its end. The support needed is too much and there are too many alternatives.
Posted by Ryan Deeds | February 19, 2007 11:42 AM
Posted on February 19, 2007 11:42
What is the best life insurance specific calendar/database available? Ninety-five percent of our business is life insurance sales and we currently use Contact Partner. However, we often need Excel for added reports and flexibility. Sometimes this requires double inputs.
Posted by Steve Midgley | March 6, 2007 5:48 PM
Posted on March 6, 2007 17:48
So often, Insurance Companies try to pinch pennies until they can't scream any more. The reason Linux and Open Source Software will not be quashed by Microsoft is that Microsoft can't compete with "Free." Sure they can offer some free products here and there, but the difference in Linux and Microsoft is stockholders.
That being the case, as the older Insurance IT guys retire and new ones take their place, Linux's market share will grow. All of a sudden the Insurers will figure out that there is another area to enrich the bottom line and they will find it in the IT department.
Companies that use Linux in the back office for servers and data storage will come to the realization that Linux can easily and cheaply handle the desktop PC as well. Furthermore, they will realize that, unlike Mac (and MS Vista), they don't have to change out the hardware, just the software.
Linux will become a cost-cutting fad. It will become the latest trend, like credit scoring and "Immediate Response Vehicles." Stockholders will hear about the Linux trend and demand that the directors stop wasting so much money on software that has a free alternative.
Linux is a now viable for the non-geek. My version of choice is PCLinuxOS. I've tried most of all the big names and this one is the easiest and most flexible to use.
To address Steve's inquiry, Open Office (www.openoffice.org) can handle most anything needed for MS Office applications like Excel. They offer versions for Windows, Linux or Mac. So someone could try it out on a Windows machine before deciding whether or not they wanted to take the plunge and completely switch to Linux. As far as e-mail and calendaring, there are numerous programs such as Thunderbird, Evolution, Scalix, Zimbra, Kolab and several others that offer free or reduced cost groupware (e-mail and calendaring accessible by other machines on the network).
Zale
Posted by Zale Dowlen, MBA, AIC | March 28, 2007 4:07 PM
Posted on March 28, 2007 16:07