Sun already is marketing=
StarOffice 6.0, which runs on multiple operating systems including its=
proprietary Solaris, Windows, and Linux. The suite features word=
processing, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics, and database capabilities.=
A 25-user pack for small and medium enterprises goes for $1,500, while a=
$75.95 retail version is targeted to the small office/home office=
space.

Among other developments, Hewlett Packard--parent of the=
XP-powered Presario--last month began offering Red Hat Version 7.3=
pre-installed on its HP xw line of personal workstations. And IBM has=
extended Linux client support for Lotus iNotes Web Access.

As for=
Oakland, Calif.-based SuSE, it has brought out Pro-Office, priced at $24.95=
and including the StarOffice Suite, the KDE 3.0.1 graphical user interface,=
and SuSE Linux 8.0 patches. At $129, the Office Desktop gives users the=
option of running Microsoft Office or StarOffice, and choosing between KDE=
and Gnome interfaces. Other supported applications on Office Desktop=
include Intuit’s Quicken.

Significant=
Growth

"Linux is growing pretty significantly on the=
[server] back-end, and it’s growing more and more on the [desktop]=
front-end," says Accpac product management vice president Craig Downing. He=
cites the launch of SuSE’s Office Desktop, with a port for running=
Microsoft Office. That should help to win over business users for whom=
"Microsoft Office was far too precious" to consider using alternatives such=
as StarOffice.

"More aggressive clients," because of the current=
economic climate, are scrutinizing ways to save money, according to=
Downing. A distributor might realize that staffers who pick-and-pack=
require only a screen or two of data, and thereby conclude, "We don’t=
want to be buying copies of XP or Office for people who don’t need=
them. Why don’t we start mixing and matching?"

Downing believes=
the DB2 bundling deal with IBM, which takes in the DB2 Workgroup Edition=
Server for both Linux and Windows, will help to further stimulate Linux=
acceptance. With the first three DB2 licenses free, he estimates a company=
could set up a five-user Linux environment for as little as $100 for the=
additional two users. "For new clients looking at the Advantage Series,=
it’s an attractive option," he says.

Customers may of course=
opt for Windows, and Accpac will continue to support the Pervasive.SQL=
database, Downing stresses.

But for now, mix-and-match is pretty much=
the order of the day. "Most of the Linux servers that are going in have=
Windows clients," acknowledges Scott Handy, director of Linux solutions=
marketing for IBM, based in Somers, N.Y. But the emergence of an end-to-end=
Linux environment is taking shape. "The applications vendors are the ones=
who will bring the customers," he states. "They’re the ones with=
solutions and who know the mid-market customers." That’s why IBM is=
allying itself with companies like Accpac. It not only has the business=
applications, it has an extensive sales channel. Linux may not represent a=
sustainable business on its own, but there certainly are "incremental=
opportunities" for resellers and consultants, says Handy. Moreover, Accpac=
VARs will also recognize, "This is another way I can differentiate myself=
from my Great Plains competitor."

IBM is currently working with=
Accpac to bring the channel up to speed on DB2, which Handy describes as=
Accpac’s "database of choice."

Herndon, Va.-based SystemLink=
has already closed several Linux deals, including a "tremendous uptick" at=
its London office. "There’s just so much more penetration in Europe,"=
observes president David Beck, "and we’re forecasting that will=
trickle out to the U.S. as people realize Linux is a less expensive [than=
Windows] but very robust operating system."

He’s enthusiastic=
about the Accpac DB2 deal. "We’re going to be recommending it for=
many of our new installations," says Beck. "This is going to make a=
difference. It scales from low to very high end. We’re excited about=
its future."

Beck continues, "Linux is in a position to gain real=
market share at the server level." He believes, though, that "the desktop=
is down the road."

Laura Marino Welsch Consulting in Irvine, Calif.,=
is a Pro Series reseller. Owner Welsch has had perhaps two inquiries for=
Linux, "but it’s important that it’s there," she says. She has=
seen a gradual upward shift in recent years from five-to-ten-user system=
implementations up to twenty users and more. That means costly software=
licenses. But without IT staffing and a perceived dearth of Linux business=
applications, middle-market firms will remain skittish.

Linux’=
gains at the desktop, as embodied by the Microtel incursion, will help to=
turn that around, she predicts. "I’m seeing, as the desktop has been=
reduced to a commodity item, customers are getting more comfortable=
ordering stuff and having someone plug it in for them"--whatever the=
operating system.

Platform Portability

As the=
name would suggest, Shakopee, Minn.-based Open Systems embraces not only=
open source code for its accounting applications, but also platform=
portability (Linux, Windows, and various flavors of Unix) for the Open=
Systems Accounting Software line. The Traverse product line runs only on=
Microsoft.

Being in the field, VARs have the best sense of what=
functionality small businesses need to operate profitably, and can serve to=
educate the customer base as to the merits of Linux. "It’s absolutely=
critical that the reseller community gets behind this," says Link. In fact,=
"That’s essential no matter what the operating system=
is."

Marketing vice president Mil Miketic adds, "The biggest issue=
today with Linux is marketing. People don’t know there’s an=
alternative to Microsoft. That’s only just happening."

The word=
must be getting out. Linux represents "a significant percentage" of OSAS=
sales, according to Miketic. Of course, Open Systems benefits from selling=
the Windows-based Traverse line as well. "That’s probably our key=
advantage" against most mid-market accounting software rivals, says Link.=
"We can mix [Windows and Linux solutions] on the same implementation. That=
allows us to play in areas where some of our competitors=
can’t."

Appgen, meanwhile, is getting a positive response from=
the channel for its Magnia/MyBooks bundle. That’s crucial, since "in=
the small business market, we find it’s the VARs who are doing=20a=
tremendous job of pushing Linux," says Allaheerdi.

Appgen has its=
entire product line running on Linux, Windows, Mac OS X, SCO Unix,=
IBM’s AIX, and other Unix flavors. Products include MyBooks=
accounting and a Custom Suite with general business=
applications.

Customers are responding as well. "We’re making a=
lot of sales to people interested in an open environment and in choice,=
although initially they’re running their systems on Windows," he=
says. They recognize, however, that as their businesses grow, they may want=
or even need to mix platforms.

Business Network Solutions in Jackson,=
Miss., an Appgen reseller, has many clients running Linux as a back-office=
server while keeping Windows on the desktop. Others are "running Linux end=
to end"--such as one client who runs a chain of funeral homes with fourteen=
desktops and one server, all Linux-based. Clients may care to some degree=
about operating systems, but first and foremost, "they want to get their=
job done," notes owner Ben Duncan. Linux, alone or in tandem with Windows,=
lets them do that.

Still, some vendors are adopting more of a=
wait-and-see attitude.

Softline, an open source advocate via its=
Visual AccountMate line, continues to keep Linux "on our drawing board."=
David Dierke, executive vice president of sales for Softline North America,=
based in Novato, Calif., explains, "The market is still pretty dominant=
Microsoft," and that won’t be changing any time soon, he=
suggests.

Because of the troubled economy, within the mid-market "the=
days of having one or two IT guys on staff are over," says Dierke, so users=
aren’t likely to tangle with the complexities of Linux. "They want a=
pretty stable platform"--meaning Windows, for which there is an existing=
massive library of business application packages and functional=
extensions.

In-House Loyalties

Unsurprisingly,=
Microsoft Business Solutions, whose product lines encompass Great Plains,=
Solomon, Navision, and Axapta, is staunchly pro-Windows. There are, of=
course, initiatives such as Microsoft Services for Unix 3.0 to provide=
clients with cross-platform support. But regarding Linux, that remains=
largely a higher-end server player. "We don’t see much out there in=
terms of the desktop," notes Franc Camara, director of business strategies=
for Microsoft worldwide, small and medium businesses.

height=3D"213" alt=3D"" src=3D"../../ewebeditpro2/upload/wsl.gif"=
width=3D"191" align=3D"left" border=3D"0" />"Honestly, there’s a lot=
more noise than presence," he says. He further suggests that some of the=
noise is off the mark, as when contrasts are drawn between "free" Linux and=
Windows 2000 without taking into consideration related hardware,=
deployment, testing, and support. "All that is cost," states=
Camara.

In a study sponsored by Microsoft but conducted by IDC,=
"Windows 2000 Versus Linux in Enterprise Computing," the research firm=
concludes that Windows 2000 offers lower total cost than Linux in four of=
five workloads common to corporate IT environments: network infrastructure,=
print serving, file serving, and security applications. Linux won the=
decision in Web serving.

Gregory Price, CPA, director of consulting=
solutions for PKF of Texas, a Houston-based IT consulting firm and Navision=
Solution Center, says his mid-market clientele typically don’t have a=
strong technical person on staff, "so they pretty much want to stay in the=
mainstream." That means Microsoft. "I’ve never had one person ask me=
about Linux," he says.

He believes Linux will have some measure of=
success among middle-market companies in a hosting environment, where IT=
managers can worry about the technology and small business owners can=
continue to concentrate on their businesses. He cites San Antonio,=
Texas.-based Rackspace Managed Hosting, a Red Hat strategic partner that=
provides clients with the servers, software, bandwidth, and management=
needed to run their hosted applications. These may run on Linux, Windows=
2000, Solaris, and Unix-based, open-source BSD servers.

Also going=
the hosting route is Boston-based OpenAir, which provides Web-native,=
Linux-based professional services automation software that includes time=
and expense tracking; project estimating, accounting, and management;=
resource planning; knowledge management; purchase orders; billing; and=
business intelligence.

Marketing vice president Jeff Hunt has no=
misgivings about Linux. "The trends are so prevalent about the success open=
source is having," he says. "Right now it’s risky to recommend [to=
customers] any kind of closed, proprietary system since that potentially=
could exclude them from new applications and services that are cropping=
up."

By offering its Open Air Complete PSA software on a Linux=
platform, the vendor is able to price its online services "significantly=
below" comparable services from rivals, according to Hunt.

Low price=
and easy modification are two key forces behind Linux’ spreading=
acceptance. Other factors are also at work. In the view of=
SystemLink’s Beck, "The initial spin people put on Linux was the open=
source. But I don’t think that’s what’s driving interest.=
In the middle market what’s driving interest is choice--that is, a=
choice other than Microsoft."

Richard McCausland is Senior=
Editor of Accounting Technology and can be reached at href=3D"mailto:Richard.McCausland-at-amgpubs.com">Richard.McCausland-at-amgpu=
bs.com .