However, one consultant who had been using Linux since kernel version 1.0.9 is still with the company 15 years later.

"The 4GL ordering system was running out of puff and [since] the business dictates to the IT system [it needed upgrading]," he said. "Other contenders were Visual Basic or J2EE but J2EE was chosen because it was a standard."

UCW then went about searching for a database to run its core applications.

"After two days trying to install Oracle they gave up," Smith said, adding the open source PostgreSQL was then installed and tested. "We use Linux on mission-critical servers and PostgreSQL and have gone for years without a problem."

During his presentation at last week's Linuxworld conference and expo, Smith spoke at length about the virtues of using open source software.