Linux
Unchained
News
Story by Mary K. Pratt
November 22, 2004 (COMPUTERWORLD)
Customers
of GAF3 Solutions tell the technology services
provider that they want to use Linux because they
hear it's reliable, robust and relatively inexpensive.
But a customer recently balked at the one-month
delay to install a Linux server. Why such a long
wait? GAF3's Linux expert was overextended, says
George A. Fitch III, president and CEO of the Dover,
N.H.-based company.
High
demand has Fitch wondering if he should charge
extra for Linux-related work. If he does, he wouldn't
be alone.
Linux
is gaining ground so quickly that some companies
are having a hard time finding enough people to
handle Linux-related work. And those they do find
charge a premium, according to The Yankee Group,
a market research firm in Boston. Skilled Linux
administrators in major metropolitan markets command
20% to 30% salary premiums over their Unix and
Windows counterparts—a fact that could diminish
the cost savings that many companies bank on when
they switch to Linux.
"It's
really hard to find good, qualified help that doesn't
charge you so much," says Laura DiDio, an
analyst at Yankee Group.
Not
all IT managers concur with that assessment, but
they do agree that the growth of Linux requires
a retooling of tech workers. They can't throw their
Windows people into Linux projects without additional
training, and though Unix staffers can pick up
Linux more quickly, even they need time to get
up to speed.
The
Goods
Linux
experts and enthusiasts cite a litany of skills
that companies need for Linux systems work. Experience
with programming and documentation is key. The
ability to edit files and modify source code is
important, too. Management experience is another
plus.
Image
Credit: Michael Miller |
Those
skills aren't overly difficult to find, says
Michael J. Ciaraldi, a computer science professor
at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts.
But other skills—namely expertise in
networking and graphics—aren't so easy
to locate.
"Another skill in
Linux is you have to be willing to ask
other people for help," Ciaraldi
adds. For those who do seek help, there
are Web sites and user groups that share
information on how to use and modify
Linux.
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DiDio
compares the skills needed for Linux today to those
sought for network administrators 15 or 20 years
ago. "What you're basically looking for is
that eclectic network administrator or software
developer from circa 1988—someone who knows
lots of different things," she says.
While
some say the lack of personnel with Linux expertise
affects the rate at which companies adopt the open-source
system, others say IT departments are finding the
skills they need without much extra effort or additional
pay.
"If
you have someone who has experience with other
operating systems, I don't think it's all that
difficult switching over to Linux," Ciaraldi
says. "Conceptually, the commands are the
same, the structure is similar. It's just learning
what the exact commands are to accomplishing various
tasks."
Tom
Pratt, IT manager at Coastal Transportation Inc.,
a shipping company in Seattle, agrees. He oversees
a mixed environment that includes seven Linux servers
and two Linux desktops. Pratt says he had no problem
learning Linux, and he wouldn't expect to encounter
any problems finding skilled help if necessary.
A Unix administrator could easily evolve into a
Linux administrator with self-directed training,
Pratt says. "If you can read, that's the primary
skill you need," he adds.
Not
So Fast
Not
all companies are comfortable moving ahead with
Linux without skilled workers, however. Ciaraldi
remembers one New Jersey company, which was working
with Worcester Polytech students, that decided
against a Linux server when it realized it didn't
have in-house Linux expertise.
And
for companies that like flexible IT staffs, Linux
can present a problem. "The hardest thing
I'm finding is someone who is very good in Linux
and can support Windows," says Dan Agronow,
vice president of technology at The Weather Channel
Interactive Inc., or Weather.com, in Atlanta.
Agronow
says he hasn't had any trouble finding staffers
with Linux skills, but those with both Linux expertise
and Windows skills are rare. "Most people
aren't as broad as that," he says.
Like
others, Agronow says he believes someone with Unix
experience can easily make the transition to Linux,
but he suggests that the significant differences
between Windows and Unix/Linux could keep some
companies from adopting Linux. "If you were
an all-Windows shop, maybe you don't have the contacts
to hire a Linux person," he says.
Besides,
companies want more than Linux skills, experts
say. They want business experience, too. "It's
certainly possible to hire junior systems administrators
who have great knowledge in Linux," says Mark
Mellis, a consultant at SystemExperts Corp., a
Sudbury, Mass.-based provider of network security
consulting services.
"The
place where you run into trouble is typically they
know the technical bits, but they don't understand
the business," he says. "They understand
the details of the implementation, but they don't
understand the greater architectural details or
the big picture. That's why they're junior people."
Even
companies that rely on their senior Unix workers
for help with Linux systems are encountering problems,
DiDio says. "There's a presumption that if
these guys could do Unix, then Linux should not
be that much of a stretch for them. So they're
throwing them into the trenches," but they're
not always prepared to handle all the tinkering
that needs to be done, she says.
The
famously collaborative Linux community tries to
pooh-pooh this, according to DiDio. "They'll
say, 'We have thousands of developers who will
jump in and help out' " via Linux chat rooms
and Web sites, she says. "While that sounds
very nice, that's not going to take the place of
skilled in-house staff."
For
Now
While
Unix people may be able to make the transition
to Linux over time, the shortage of skilled Linux
personnel today is forcing some companies to look
to vendors for help. But DiDio says even the big
Linux distributors like Red Hat Inc. and Novell
Inc. "don't have thousands of tech support
people" to meet growing demand for Linux-related
services.
DiDio
cites the case of a major stock exchange that switched
from Unix to Linux. The organization had to default
to its hardware vendor, Hewlett-Packard Co., for
installation help and service. "This is how
people are going to make their money on Linux—selling
the premium technical service and support," she
says.
And
while that window of opportunity won't last forever,
it may exist for the foreseeable future.
"I
think there will be more demand as deployment continues," says
Dick Mackey, principal at SystemExperts. "And
I think the demand will increase before the supply
of skilled people will be available. It will be
a good market for those people."
Meanwhile,
companies are trying to close the Linux skills
gap by sending staffers for training and hiring
new people specifically for their Linux experience. "And
some of the smaller companies are asking employees
to go out and teach themselves," says Ciaraldi.
Peter
Childers, vice president of global learning services
at Raleigh, N.C.-based Red Hat, says he has seen
demand for the company's Linux training and certification
courses increase dramatically. Today, there are
more than 12,800 Red Hat Certified Engineers and
5,900 Red Hat Certified Technicians, a designation
launched in January 2003. And 97% of people attending
training are sponsored by their companies, Childers
says.
As
manager of technical support at Boscov's Department
Store LLC in Reading, Pa., Joe Poole oversees about
85 IT staffers, five of whom maintain the company's
Linux system. He sent two staffers to a one-week
Linux training course run by IBM, paying about
$5,000 for both to attend. Those two workers now
train colleagues in Linux.
"There's
a scarcity of people who are absolutely trained
in Linux, and that's all they do," Poole says. "But
there's no scarcity of people who can pick it up."
Even
so, Linux personnel seem increasingly valuable.
Regardless of how you increase the level of Linux
expertise in your IT shop, beware of companies
that might try to raid your staff, particularly
competitors in your industry, DiDio says. "Make
[workers] sign on the dotted line if you train
them that they'll stay with you for a year or two," she
says.
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