Major Linux Migrations: An Unbelievable List of Nearly 100 From Around the Globe

Thoroughly thrilled at the thought of Munich’s progress switching to Linux, I have actually been tracking and logging such migrations for a long time. As a matter of fact, on my OpenSUSE Linux blog, I offer a course wherein I explore all of the migrations of which I am aware. I wanted to share that list with ya’ll.

The explosive growth of the Linux operating system has literally taken the world by storm and by surprise. With the many migrations to Linux, my interest was piqued. I wanted to delve into the details of who was actually switching. Is all of the excitement just from the novelty of a few groups switching over? Or is all the excitement coming from migration after migration of many different organizations? Are that many people really making the switch?

So I hit the trail, hoping to create some kind of order out of the chaos. For several months, I searched out relevant articles outlining migrations to Linux. When it was finally finished, I compiled it all here.

After some extensive research, I uncovered some fascinating trends in Linux migration. Check out this impressive list of companies, organizations, and other entities who have switched over to Linux:

U.S. Military Forces

U.S. Army

U.S. Navy

U.S. Air Force and Marine Corps

U.S. Air Force and Army - Linux clusters gear up for simulated combat

U.S. Department of Defense - IBM To Build Supercomputer for US Military

Pentagon & Department of Defense - OF ARMS AND LINUX

Army National Guard - Army National Guard Using Linux

Autonomous Military Ground Vehicle

U.S. Military - US Military Testing IBM Speech Translation Technology

Governments Worldwide Using Linux

U.S. Government - SGI and Fed Centric Secure U.S. Government Order for Massive, Cost-Efficient Enterprise Computing System

United Kingdom

Switzerland - Swiss government switches 3,000 systems to Linux

Japan - Japan Moves to Adopt Linux for Government

Norway

Israel

China

Spain

Australia

South Korean Government

Brazilian Government

Venezuelan Government

Italy

Indonesia - Indonesia adopts JDS on Linux as a national desktop

Dutch Government

Dutch govt ends exclusive MS upgrade talks

Netherlands

Large Danish public sector IT provider supports open standards

India

Taiwan

Russian Government

IBM Helps the UK and Russian Governments Adopt Linux
Government Projects Boost Support for Open Source
IBM And Russian Ministry To Promote Linux Adoption
To Russia, with Linux

Mexico City

Peruvian Congressman - Ending Microsoft FUD: An Interview with Peruvian Congressman Villanueva

Singapore

California - California considers open-source shift

Mississippi - Mississippi deal a landmark for Linux in government

Chicago, IL - City Of Chicago Migrates To Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Austin, TX - Austin tests desktop Linux waters

Boston, MA - Proprietary software–banned in Boston?

Garden Grove, CA - Linux Means Business to the City of Garden Grove

Largo, FL

Minister of Science and Technology in Costa Rica - Excerpt from Meeting with Costa Rica’s Minister of Science and Technology

London borough of Newham, Birmingham - Birmingham City Council claims open-source success

French Parliament - Au Revoir: French Parliament Drops Microsoft

Vienna, Austria

Munich, Germany

Amsterdam - Amsterdam Will Give Open Source a Try

Kardjali, Bulgaria - Bulgaria also goes Free and Open Source in the city of Kardjali

Province of Genoa, Italy - Genoa launches Open Source platform

Paris, France

Several Other World Governments

Financial Institutions Using Linux

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China

TSB Bank (New Zealand), Banca Commerciale Italiana (Italy) - More foreign banks switching to Linux

Indian Banks

Banrisul Bank (Brazil) - Linux Online Interviews

French bank Societe Generale - Societe Generale boosts risk management with Linux switch

Allied Irish Banks - Linux finds Irish banking champion

Royal Bank of Scotland - Royal Bank of Scotland opts for open source intranet

Western & Southern Financial Group - Financial group trusts Linux platform to protect customers’ assets

Companies and Corporations

Teradata - Teradata puts its weight behind Suse Linux

Amazon.com - Amazon saves millions with Linux switch

Pixar - Pixar switches from Sun to Intel

U.S. Postal Service - Linux delivers for U.S. Postal Service

Redmayne-Bentley, UK stock brokerage firm - Unisys Open Source Migration Helps UK Brokerage Streamline Operations

Telstra, telecommunications giant in Australia - Telstra eyes Linux [iTNews Australia]

Companies in the Middle East - Linux operating system secures place on Middle East’s technology agenda

Elcot (Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu) - India’s largest Linux rollout forges ahead despite tremendous odds

NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s largest cellular carrier - Japan’s #1 cellular carrier adopts Linux for 3G phones

Lawson - IBM sells 15,000 Linux servers to Japanese chain

Tommy Hilfiger - Tommy Hilfiger Chooses IBM and Linux for E-Business Infrastructure

Travelocity - Travelocity’s flight to open systems

BSNL Selects Linux As The Foundation For Its Distributed Architecture

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism - Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Opts For Oracle E-Business Suite

Britannia Building Society (UK Mortgate Firm) - Linux migration saves money

Global clients of Sun Microsystems - Global Sun clients choose Linux

Other Companies Worldwide - Linux in emerging markets

Educational Institutions

United Federation of Teachers in New York - Teachers Union Turns to Open Source

Indiana Department of Education - Hoosier Daddy? In Indiana Schools, It’s Linux

Chinese Schools - China to install 142,000 Linux PCs in classrooms

Schools in the U.K.

South African Schools

Chilean Schools

Italian Schools - Linux displaces 2,460 Windows XP desktops in rural Italian schools

Macedonian Schools - Macedonia installs 5,000 Linux PCs in schools

Mexican Schools - Mexican Schools Embrace Linux

Other Migrations to Linux

NASA Microgravity Experiment - Linux Out of the Real World

NASA supercomputer - NASA’s Columbia Supercomputer Is World’s Fastest

Library - Library system migrates from Linux — to more Linux

Opus Healthcare - title=”Opus Healthcare application vendor switches to Linux

New South Wales - Linux powers nation’s largest satellite network

Ernie Ball, the world’s leading maker of premium guitar strings - Rockin’ on without Microsoft

Argentina

Malaysia - Malaysia: On the verge of an open source revolution?

General Asian Interest - 2003: the year of Asian Linux

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency - Unix maintenance costs spur Ohio EPA’s Linux adoption

South African Revenue Service - SA tax man eyes desktop Linux

Capital Cardiology Associates’ (CCA) - Doctor prescribes Linux for more reliable networks, lower cost

Polish Linux Distribution - Polish Linux

African Continent - Africa: The Linux Continent?

African Medical Field - Using Ubuntu Linux to solve South Africa’s Medical Issues

Conclusion

Summarily, a great many are switching to Linux. Remember that the list of migrations provided above is not comprehensive. As a matter of fact, it would be quite impossible to include them all. Even with this limited amount of research, it is obvious that there are some major players making the move. And it’s not just a couple of small-time organizations, unless you consider the U.S. Military small-time.

Evidently, several banks have switched to Linux, also. Why would they make the switch to Linux? They must trust in its security. A bank has a great deal to lose if its security is breached.

Could it be that Linux is a great option? Evidence makes it sure appear to be, doesn’t it?

Linux has a great deal to offer. It is a robust operating system used by major military and governmental organizations throughout the world. At the same time, it is easy enough that my grandmother could use it. And it is free. And it is rock-solid secure. Incredible, to say the least.

Thinking about migrating? No time like the present.