Over the past year or so I’ve noticed an increasing number of newbies (a term which I use affectionately) interested in taking Linux for a spin - for example, the number or emails I’m getting on the subject from zero a year ago to several dozen a week. The reasons for their interest in Linux are many and varied, as is the level of commitment to making the switch from Windows or Mac.

More than 50% of IT executives in a recent survey said that they were planning to accelerate Linux adoption in 2009. “As organisations fight to cut costs and find value in this tough economic climate, Linux adoption will accelerate,” said Michelle Beetar, country manager for Novell South Africa.

Considering the economic climate, just about any nascent business targeting enterprises as customers must at this time make price a high priority. Using open source instead of proprietary technology can help keep costs down. Here are three startups making headway in the enterprise Linux space.

According to a self-administered survey, Enterprises are still at risk from common security 'gaps.' Novell today released the first summary of data from its Threat Assessment Tool and the view isn't pretty. The results show that "many enterprises are still highly vulnerable to preventable security threats.

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) is a new architectural approach for building distributed systems that deliver application functionality as loosely coupled services. Till recently it was mere hype, but today it's a reality.

Linux adoption has increased manifold in India. Several government bodies, private firms and SMEs have been the big takers of Linux platform.

In just a few years, data deduplication has gone from a technology with a lot of promise that only very large enterprises could afford to one that is nearly ubiquitous for making the most of backup and recovery.

According to DesktopLinux.com's just completed survey, the number of Desktop Linux users has more than doubled in the past year, and Ubuntu remains their Linux distribution of choice.

For many enterprises, 2010 is going to be the year they decide whether or not to jump on board with Windows 7, or stick with Windows XP. I’ve decided to avoid Windows 7, whenever possible, and rely on Mac and Linux to power my primary systems.