The latest research from analyst firm IDC suggests that
users are being increasingly won over by the perceived cost
benefits of Linux servers.
Daniel Fleischer, senior research analyst at IDC, said, "For small
to medium-sized businesses, Linux is in the main seen as a cheaper
option because you do not have the associated licensing costs that
you would with proprietary operating systems."
IDC's most recent Worldwide Quarterly Server Tracker survey found
that Linux is currently the fastest growing area of the server
market. Sales of Linux servers accounted for revenue worth $583m
(£358m) in the first quarter of this year - 35% up on the same
quarter last year.
Despite earning a reputation for cost-effectiveness, Fleischer
warned that Linux is by no means totally free of costs. "It is
perceived to be much cheaper because you can download it for free
but there are other associated costs, such as support."
Scalability and Linux's similarity to the Unix operating system are
also proving to be a hit with users, according to IDC's
research.
Fleischer said, "If you look at scalability, Linux is available
from one-way web servers all the way up to the IBM zSeries.
"For large enterprises, Linux is very much an extension of the Unix
expertise that they have in-house - that means it is not a major
shift in mindset to move to Linux."
Linux applications can also be easily adapted to users' needs, said
Fleischer. "Because Linux is open source, the intellectual property
is in the public domain - that makes customisation of applications
easier."
Business users are also benefiting from the increasing number of
Linux applications on the market. John Owen, IT development manager
at Birmingham University, said, "The thing that is driving us more
and more is that the application base is growing on Linux." This
has encouraged senior management to take the operating system
seriously, he added.
Owen, who is also chairman of the HP\Works technical users group,
said increasing numbers of Linux products are being written for the
academic market. "These include the likes of library and
cataloguing systems, as well as systems for electronic journals,"
he said.