Linux will shed its image as an "edge" server to become the fastest-growing platform for ERP installations, according to Peerstone Research , San Francisco. The findings—based on an online survey of 400 SAP, PeopleSoft, and Oracle ERP customers—showed 15 percent planned to adopt Linux by 2007, a figure that doubles to 30 percent by 2009.

"The results support what we see in the marketplace, which is that Linux is moving up the stack," says Peerstone CEO Jeff Gould.

The survey asked respondents to specify their current server operating system (OS), and plans for the future. Two-thirds of respondents currently use UNIX for ERP, followed by Windows at 28 percent. By contrast, Linux today accounts for less than 2 percent of ERP servers.

Linux growth comes at the expense of UNIX, after which the open-source OS was patterned. By 2007, as Linux gains 15-percent share, UNIX declines to about half of all ERP servers. Significantly, the emergence of Linux as an ERP server stops Windows growth in this sector cold."

The ERP marketplace is a trailing indicator of Linux growth because companies don't swap platforms until the end of a hardware lease or depreciation cycle, or until they begin a major ERP version upgrade. Furthermore, compared to "edge" servers—providing print, Web serving, or firewall functions—operational requirements for ERP are more stringent.

"Those who go to Linux expect it will be less expensive," Gould says. Savings come from cheaper hardware, not the cost of the OS. Red Hat , the largest distributor of Linux, currently charges $1,500 for part-time and $2,500 for full-time support, per server. Sun plans to price Solaris 10—its next UNIX version—for $120, and $360 per server, depending on support.