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Dataquest recently reported that NT's server market share grew from 9.7 percent in 1996 to 15.2 percent in 1998, while Unix went from 36 percent to 42.7 percent. These numbers surprised me, because most observers had predicted that Unix's share would have leveled off by now. I think Unix's strong performance, at least in part, is a result of the growth of the Web in general, and e-commerce in particular.

Bigger Is Better, for Unix Depending on the size of your business, Unix may be a good choice, or even the only choice, for your e-commerce server. The bigger your business, the more likely it is that a Unix system makes sense. And, as the rest of this issue makes evident, don't think that choosing an easily deployed operating system will make the job of fielding your e-commerce server any easier. In fact, it may make things more difficult. You need to look to your operating system as a means to enable the connections between your various systems already in place. Unix gives you that sort of power.

I also like Unix because volume comes from vendors such as Sun, HP, IBM, Digital and SGI, all of which have built their businesses by selling to the business market. These vendors stand behind their systems with extensive warranties and are accustomed to scaling their offerings to meet almost any business problem. Sure, some do better at it than others, but these vendors are comfortable tailoring solutions to particular business problems. These systems aren't cheap nor are they easy to run, but they are both reliable and powerful. Perhaps most important, there's less chance for finger-pointing when something goes wrong if the hardware and software comes from the same vendor.

Much of Unix systems' power comes from Unix's heritage as a general-purpose multiuser computing system. Remote-management capabilities are assumed, as is the ability to program the system to do whatever needs to be done. As beneficial as all this is, there is a significant downside to Unix systems: They require substantial expertise to keep them running efficiently and safely.

When it comes to e-commerce, security is everything, and Unix gives you every chance in the world to screw it up and leave holes for hackers. Unix administrators who are really up to the challenge of securing a system and implementing your e-commerce strategy are a relatively rare breed, and thus in high demand. Expect to pay good money for your Unix administrators, and check up on their experience. Call their references and do an extensive interview. These are the people who will be in charge of your newest and possibly most vulnerable corporate jewels.

Knowing Your Place This is not to say that NT and NetWare have no place in e-commerce; they do. Turnkey systems based on NT probably are acceptable for many small businesses that can't afford larger Unix systems and the expertise to keep them running. These businesses also are likely to have the flexibility to tailor their business practices to the turnkey system they buy--something the big folks simply can't do. As Windows 2000 (NT 5.0) comes to market and matures, it will be a player in the small-business market.

Whatever the size of your organization or your e-commerce goal, do some investigating. There are lots of solutions of varying quality available, and if ever there was a decision that requires you to know what you're getting yourself and your organization into, it's this one. So start exploring, consider Unix and caveat emptor.

Send your comments on this column to Art Wittmann at awittmann@nwc.com.