This document discusses the benefits of paying for enterprise open source software like Red Hat Linux over building it yourself or using unpaid community versions. It argues that paid solutions provide support, security updates, and consistency that save time and reduce costs compared to unpaid alternatives. Data from an IDC study is presented showing organizations that used Red Hat saved 35% on operations costs over 3 years and achieved a 368% ROI within 5 months compared to unpaid solutions.

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Why Pay for Open Source Linux?
Avoid the Hidden Cost of DIY
Torsten Volk
ManagingResearch Director
EMA
Dan Pacek
Manager of Market and
Competitive Intelligence for RHEL
Red Hat

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| @ema_research
Featured Speakers
With over 15 years of enterprise IT experience, Torsten
helps end users and vendors leverage the
opportunities presented by today's hybrid cloudand
software-definedinfrastructure environments in
combination with advanced machine learning. He
specializes in topics that lead the way from hybrid
cloud and the SDDC toward a business-defined
concept of enterprise IT.
Dan is the Manager of Market and Competitive
Intelligence for Red Hat's Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
business unit. In this role, he oversees analysis of
primary and secondary research focused on
customer requirements andcompetitor vendor
offerings in the Linux market. The findings from the
team’s analysis are key to the on-goingdevelopment
and promotion of RHEL as the leadingenterprise
Linux for commercial use cases.
© 2022 Enterprise M anagement Associates,Inc. 3
Torsten Volk
Managing Research Director
Red Hat
Dan Pacek
Manager of Market and
Competitive Intelligence for RHEL
Red Hat

4. Why Pay for Open
Source Linux
Avoid the Hidden Cost of DIY

5. Linux can…
…enhance productivity throughout
DevOps lifecycles and operations
management across applications.
…increase efficiency by saving on
headcount and simplifying operations
across the data center and clouds.
…lower operational risk through
optimized security.
…boost digital transformation by
accelerating the transition toward a
cloud native application architecture.

6. Linux Kernel (20 million lines of code):
● Connects software to hardware
● Memory management
● Process management
● Device drivers
● System calls and security
● Connects to apps through system call interface (SCI)
● Distributes resources to apps
● Passes I/O to CPU
● Supports GPU, sound, NIC, RAM, disk, and all other hardware functions
GNU Tools
Boot loader (loads kernel), bash shell
(CLI), C compiler, GTK+, Gzip, Nano
Display Manager and Display Server
● Gnome or GDM
● X Display Server
● Wayland
Daemons
Background services: network
manager, systemd (controls other
daemons)
Desktop
GNOME (GTK lib), KDE (Qt lib)
User Apps from DistroRepos
Browser, office, terminal, media player,
messenger
Application Management
● Package systems (rpm, dpkg, deb)
● Package manager (apt, dnf, zypper, pacman)
● Manage application versions
Workload Performance Optimization
● Latency monitoring
● Predictive analytics
● Root cause analysis
● Automatic resolutions
● Kernel live patching
Container Management
● Runtime
● Developer tools
● Monitoring
● Resiliency
Image Management and Provisioning
● Centralized image builder
● Consistent images for bare metal, vm, and
containers
● Consistent images for data center, public cloud,
and edge
● Zero-touch provisioning, upgrades, and
rollbacks.
Simplified Upgrades
● In-place upgrade
● Pre-check with requirements list
● Preserve customization, configuration, and
preferences
● Self-service or as-a-service
Same Kernel,
Different OS
Author Q1 2022 Q2 2022 Q3 2022 Q4 2022 Total
Krzysztof Kozlowski 224 379 371 1 975
Christoph Hellwig 170 225 201 15 611
Matthew Wilcox (Oracle) 213 211 94 58 576
Sean Christopherson 121 269 154 0 544
Andy Shevchenko 144 142 213 5 504
Ville Syrjälä 261 114 56 7 438
Geert Uytterhoeven 161 158 90 4 413
Dmitry Baryshkov 58 145 201 0 404
Mark Brown 82 170 112 1 365
Martin Kaiser 122 131 94 0 347
Others (4326) 16605 19040 19182 1457 56284
Total 18161 20984 20768 1548 61461
Quarterly Commits to Linux Kernel Per Author

7. Linux Requirements from the Field
“Security and cost are both criticalto us”, CTO, National Bank
“Deep application support, quick patches and bug fixes are what we need”, - VP Platform Engineering,
Manufacturer of Packaging Materials
“We need to prevent toil”, DevOps Architect, Automotive Parts Manufacturer
“Efficiently sharing GPUs would be an appealing feature”, Data Engineer, Car Insurance Company
“Operational simplicity is key”, DevOps Engineer, Online Payment ProcessingPlatform
“Linux is Linux, so we want the lowest TCO”, Infrastructure Platform Engineer, Consumer Goods
Manufacturer
“Consistency is king.” VP Cloud Engineering, Online Gaming Platform
“The distroshould be rock solid by install and should not do updates besides bug fixes and security patches.
Operational stability is everything”, CTO, Mining Company
“Some Linux distributions push a little too fast in terms of upgrades. We prefer stability”, VP Cloud
Infrastructure, Medical Device Manufacturer software store only to find a painful lack of software there
“The goal: a working immutable OS with almost every application running in a container”, Lead Developer,
Enterprise Software Vendor

8. Critical Challenges for
Linux Administrators
Source: Stackexchange data between Jan 1, 2022 and Sep 30, 2022

9. Consistency across…
…AWS, Azure, GCP
…Bare Metal, VMs, Containers, Serverless
…Traditional and Cloud Native Apps
… Data Center, Cloud, Edge

10. Linux Impact
on Admins,
Developers,
and IT
Operators
Key Observations
1. Networking, security, and
kernel are the key challenges
for Linux admins.
2. Containers, networking, and
security are the critical topics
for developers.
3. Networking, servers, and
security have the highest
priority for IT operators. Source: Stackexchange data between Jan 1, 2022 and Sep 30,
2022

11. Linux Matters for
Developer
Productivity
Source: Stackexchange data between Jan 1, 2022 and Sep 30,
2022

12. Amazon Linux 2
Ansible and Amazon Linux 2: How can I use
yum module with Python3?
bash: jstack: command not found" error on
Amazon Linux AMI
AAPanel - Installation fails for PHP 8.0.11 on
ARM EC2
How to enable mariadb 10.5 on Amazon Linux
2 with "amazon-linux-extras" command?
How to resolve "No packages marked for
update" problem for amzn2-core in ec2 linux
machine?
How to install and enable php extension for
tidy html on a beanstalk with amazon linux 2?
(php ver. 7.4)
Cannot access k8s service from amazon linux
2 minikube cluster
Azure Linux
"Update classification shown and reported for
Linux by Update Management may be incorrect"
error on Azure Linux VM Update Management
Azure Linux Reset password fails with Parents
ResourceNotFound
Azure Linux Startup Command ignored
Azure Linux Web App Downloading files directly
from URL not working
azure linux web app whitelist IP gets 401 error
Azure Linux web app: change OpenSSL default
security level?
Azure Linux Zip Deploy not working : Azure
Functions App?
Oracle Linux
After install docker oracle linux,then
how to connect docker oracle linux
AMMYY router don't start on Oracle
linux 7.9
Cannot update linux Oracle linux 9
Cannot install libpq-devel on Oracle
Linux 8
Cannot install MongoDB in Oracle
Linux 8
Connect to a remote postgresql
database from oracle linux 8
Showcase: Cloud-Specific Linux Problems

13. Conclusion
Linux has a direct impact on…
○ …staff productivity
○ …speed and security of the DevOps lifecycle
○ …operational efficiency
Linux distributions differ by…
○ …speed of security patches
○ …speed of bug fixes
○ …simplicity of management
○ …application support
○ …consistent support of data center, public cloud, and edge
○ …consistent support of bare metal, VMs, and containers
○ … management and monitoring tools
○ … hardware support
Operational consistency is key as it enables organizations
to…
○ …use the same staff across the enterprise
○ …use the same management tools
○ …ensure policy-driven security
○ …implement compliant resilience processes
○ …achieve continuous audit readiness
○ …ensure predictable performance

14. WHY PAY RED HAT FOR OPEN SOURCE?
Making the case for paying for free software
Dan Pacek
Competitive Intelligence/Market Analyst
14

15. I THOUGHT OPEN SOURCE = FREE?
15

16. Build it yourself Buy proprietary Download &
deploy
community bits
Purchase a
subscription for
enterprise open
source software
HOW DO I OBTAIN ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE
16

17. Acquisition cost: Dedicated headcount
Support: Dedicated support headcount
Ongoing maintenance and enhancements:
Dedicated engineering headcount
Costs
Pros:
● Ultimate flexibility and low initial out-of-
pocket costs
Cons:
● Productivity limited by headcount
● Resources not dedicated to the business
● Entire responsibility of maintenance,
security, and upgrades
Outcomes
BUILD IT YOURSELF
17

18. Acquisition cost: High initial license fee
Support: Pay for support plan
Ongoing maintenance: Paying for
support plan, but upgrades may be extra
Costs
Pros:
● Keep your developers focused on
the business
● Application maintenance outsourced
● Security is outsourced
Cons:
● Innovation happens at your suppliers
pace and is dictated by wallet share
● Limited flexibility and transparency
of functionality
● Threat of vendor lock in
Outcomes
BUY PROPRIETARY
18

19. Acquisition cost: Free, but still
requires headcount to interface with
the community
Support: Community support and/or
dedicated headcount
Ongoing maintenance:
Community versions
Costs
Pros:
● Fast innovation
● Low acquisition cost
● Possible low maintenance cost
Cons:
● Sometimes bleeding edge innovation
● No hardware, software or security
certifications
● Responsibility falls on you for maintenance
and security
● Unpredictable level of community support–
move at the pace of the community
● Supply chain may not be secure
Outcomes
DOWNLOAD & DEPLOY COMMUNITY BITS
19

20. Acquisition cost: Predictable
recurring cost
Support: Support is offered by the
vendor that builds and distributes the
software
Ongoing maintenance: Developed
and delivered by an enterprise
software vendor
Costs
Pros:
● Collaborative innovation and problem
resolution
● Leverage the speed of community
innovation with tested certified and
hardened code from a secure supply chain
● Ongoing support, security, and
maintenance is outsourced
● Transparency and influenceover
roadmaps
Cons:
● ?
Outcomes
PURCHASE A SUBSCRIPTION FOR ENTERPRISE
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE
20

21. FREE CAN BE EXPENSIVE
Business Value of Red Hat Paid Solutions
vs Unpaid Alternative Solutions
21

22. 1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
Less staff time to handle
service requests
Number
of
hours
Overall
Unpaid Solutions
Red Hat Paid Solutions
15
10
5
0
35
30
25
20
Less time required to develop new
applications
Number
of
weeks
Overall
2.4
27.7
1.5
18.2
3
2
1
0
7
6
5
4
Less time to develop new features
Number
of
weeks
Overall
4.3
37%
Less time
34%
Faster
28%
Less time
RED HAD PAID SOLUTIONS SAVES YOU TIME
5.9
22
IDC White Paper, sponsored by Red Hat -"Business Value of Red Hat Paid Solutions vs Unpaid
Alternatives-IDC” Document #US45045719 © 2019 IDC.

23. 3-YEAR COST OF OPERATIONS
PER ORGANIZATION
$6,111,900
$12,000,000
$8,000,000
$4,000,000
$0
$24,000,000
$20,000,000
$16,000,000
Unpaid Solutions
Costof infrastructure
IT staff time costs
Costof lostproductivity,
unplanned outages
Costof Red Hat Solutions
$8,640,600
$8,640,600
$4142,500
$4,481,000
$2,022,000
$2,445,200
35%
Lower
$20.24M
$13.09M
Red Hat Paid Solutions
23
IDC White Paper, sponsored by Red Hat -"Business Value of Red Hat Paid Solutions vs Unpaid Alternatives-IDC”
Document #US45045719 © 2019 IDC.

24. 3-YEAR COST OF OPERATIONS PER
SERVER
$44,416
$90,000
$60,000
$30,000
$0
$180,000
$150,000
$120,000
Unpaid Solutions
Costof infrastructure
IT staff time costs
Costof lostproductivity,
unplanned outages
Costof Red Hat Solutions
$62,792
$39,843
$30,104
$32,564
$14,694
$17,769
35%
Lower
$147,051
$95,131
Red Hat Paid Solutions
IDC White Paper, sponsored by Red Hat -"Business Value of Red Hat Paid Solutions vs Unpaid Alternatives-IDC” Document
#US45045719 © 2019 IDC. 24

25. FREE CAN BE EXPENSIVE
COST AND I.T. OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES
BUSINESS OPERATIONAL BENEFITS
○ Respondents lowered their three year cost of operations by 35%
○ After three years, respondents achieved an ROI of 368% from using Red Hat
○ Investments in Red Hat solutions paid for themselves within 5 months
TOPLINE METRICS
25
○ Respondents lowered their infrastructure costs by 32%
○ Respondents found that their IT infrastructure teams were more efficient by 38%
○ Respondents reduced their time resolving help desk issues by 55%
○ Development teams were 21% more productive
○ Respondents had 63% less unplanned downtime
○ IT staff reduced the time to fulfill service requests by 49%
IDC White Paper, sponsored by Red Hat -"Business Value of Red Hat Paid Solutions vs Unpaid Alternatives-IDC”
Document #US45045719 © 2019 IDC.