Win in the flat world

Linux

X Linux Commandments

  1. Thou shalt do necessary due diligence before adopting Linux across the enterprise
    1. Financial services firms that have been early adopters of open source/Linux have generally started by migrating non mission-critical applications to get a feel of Linux
    2. Conduct a TCO/ROI study to set realistic expectations
    3. A portfolio analysis would be useful to give you a sense of where you start and how you at applications measure the As-is versus To-Be scenarios
    4. Firms that are still skeptical must check for learnings from industries in same space
  2. Thou shalt aggressively seek vendor support
    1. Companies like Oracle, IBM and SAP, whose software are predominantly used in financial services firms, already offer Linux versions of their products (Databases, Application and Web Servers, ERP suite etc)
    2. Growing vendor support is now readily available from ISVs and ASPs.
  3. Thou shalt empower your legacy systems
    1. The hardware agnostic nature of Linux makes it especially attractive to Banks and Securities firms, which use legacy systems extensively (and require compute intensive capability).
    2. Linux on mainframe can enhance operational efficiency, reduce infrastructure costs through server consolidation and enable legacy systems to co-exist along with new applications in the same robust environment
  4. Thou shalt seek indemnification from any vendor related law suit associated with Linux

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  5. Thou shalt not shy away from asking for the improved price-performance ratio Linux can deliver
    1. Hyper threading (supported only by Linux and Windows 2003) offers a performance boost of around 70%. This can find extensive use in the areas of trading and execution, analytics and similar compute intensive processes where speed of execution is key
    2. Lintel offers comparable price performance package for compute intensive and high availability applications that are used for Analytics and regulatory compliance (e.g. The USA Patriot Act, Basel II etc.).
    3. The Linux kernel can be customized to address application specific needs (e.g. faster execution of trades or data encryption).
  6. Thou shalt explore the use of existing infrastructure before making new investments
    1. Existing investments in hardware can be protected despite advances every 18 months (Moore’s law).
    2. There is no need for purchasing new upgrades to the existing OS as Linux can run on your existing hardware also. Linux costs a fraction of its commercial counterparts.
    3. A clustered environment of heterogeneous systems can be brought together to create a grid that offers powerful compute intensive capability.
  7. Thou shalt work ceaselessly to secure your IT environment
    1. Given the fact that the code is open, data and information security are of particular concern to the financial services industry
    2. The Linux kernel can be “tweaked” to harden it for application level security
    3. The openness has also ensured that any loophole is quickly identified and fixed as the code is subject to review by a “million eyes”
    4. Virus attacks from embedded macros (one of the root causes of system downtime) are not possible in Linux.
  8. Thou shalt honor thy customer and seek ways to provide better service
    1. Financial services customers seek quick turnaround times to facilitate decision making (loan processing, trade execution etc).
    2. Linux ensures higher availability given the fact that frequent patches (which result in higher down times) are not required.
    3. A clustered environment in Linux (on Lintel platforms) allows high performance, high availability and recovery oriented computing.
    4. Business Continuity & Disaster Recovery is of paramount importance for financial services. The Lintel platform can easily be used instead of high end UNIX servers.
  9. Thou shalt seek interoperability
    1. Financial services use a gamut of technology ranging from low end desk tops to high end mainframes.
    2. Financial services firms have begun adopting web services and service oriented architecture in their web applications.
    3. Platform independence underpins Service Oriented Architecture, Web Services, Java and Linux OS.
  10. Thou shalt willingly distribute learnings to thy financial services brethren
    1. Financial services firms are heavily regulated and there is a need for cooperation within these firms
    2. Technology learnings should be shared for the benefit of the industry and its growth.
Related Information
Ten Linux Commandments