Hong Kong-based Tommy Hilfiger Corp. had three small informational Web sites that outside consultants built to run on Linux. When the company needed to revamp its Web presence, it faced the choice of staying with the open-source operating system or moving to another platform. CIO Eric Singleton says he was laying out a three-to-five-year road map for a Microsoft .Net-based environment at the time, and it made no sense to have the Web site as the only application on Linux.

"It was about a business decision based upon a bigger view and a personal belief that a model with more governance and process and structure -- what Microsoft represented -- was simply a better thing to do for the company than an open-source, less-governed model," Singleton adds.

Tommy Hilfiger is also in the process of phasing out its IBM AS/400-based wholesale, warehouse management, accounting, retail and back-office systems in favor of Windows-based applications, according to Singleton.

Turning Back to Windows

Dulles, Va.-based FLYi Inc., which flies under the name Independence Air Inc., has always been a Windows-centric organization. About 95 percent of its 105 servers are Windows-based, according to Stephen Shaffer, director of software systems. But the airline's reservation provider recommended Linux for its new Web site, so the company hired outside consultants to do the work.