LAS VEGAS -- With LinuxWorld showcasing the popularity of the open source operating system, and with open source in general finding its legs in the enterprise, Bob Sutor, IBM's vice president of open source and standards, made a slate of predictions for Linux and open source during his keynote address on Wednesday at the Black Hat conference.

Sutor spent time covering the past 10 years of IBM's involvement with Linux and open source, but it is his predictions for the next decade that should be cause for discussion. (Hint: Post your reactions and predictions below.)

See if you agree with Sutor's peek into the crystal ball:

No. 1: "Green" will drive significant initiatives in open source.
The drive to green computing will spawn significant application innovations, and Linux will help reduce energy consumption via server consolidation, virtualization, load-balancing and more efficient resources management.

No. 2: Linux will not be replaced.
A new open source operating system will not come along and unseat Linux because the current operating system will continue to evolve to solve new problems.

No. 3: Linux mind share will be less x86 focused.
Linux already runs on many different processors, and that won't change. Linux will find significant new opportunity in software-as-a-service and cloud computing.

No. 4: The idea of Linux on the desktop will be significantly different.
The very definition of desktop will change, and become more focused on clients that sit anywhere from a cubicle to the bottom of a pants pocket. Client focus will be on collaboration via open standards, cloud computing, enterprise appliances, Web 2.0 and rich-client platforms. If Linux wants a stake on the traditional desktop, it needs to mimic the Apple Mac in usability and design.

No. 5: SMB is too close to call.
Smaller companies will focus on "buying solutions" rather than hardware, operating systems and applications; and that could be a boon for Linux. The wild card is the split between embracing open platforms, desktops and clients, or moving pieces to the cloud.

No.6: It will be relatively quiet on the FOSS license front.
Licensing will coalesce around the same set of licenses in use today, but more open source software will include a combination of licenses, which will increase the legal complexity of open source.

Whitepapers

• Advancing the Economics of Networking
• Enterprise Data Center Network Reference Architecture
• Implementing HA at the Enterprise Data Center Edge to Connect to a Large Number of Branch Offices
• File Integrity Monitoring: Secure Your Virtual and Physical IT Environments
• 6 Simple Steps to Disaster Recovery Planning
• PRICING STUDY: GROUNDWORK OPEN SOURCE VS. HP SOFTWARE

View more DATA CENTER whitepapers

Webcasts

• PoE Plus: Impact on the PoE Market
• Creating a high performance workplace with wireless networking
• Harnessing the power of communications to increase workplace performance
• Making data centers the IT strategic focus
• Protecting assets and employees with IP Video Surveillance
• Stay out of the headlines: Detecting and preventing network intrusions

View more DATA CENTER webcasts

Special Reports

• IT Buyer's Guide To: Data backup and Replication
• Bringing IT Operations Management to Open Source and Beyond
• Data Centers: At the center of the action
• Executive Guide: Virtualization Reality Check
• Executive Guide: Storage Heats Up
• Get More From Your WAN

View more DATA CENTER special reports