IBM has ratcheted up the long-running fight between
Windows and Linux another notch, launching a report that claims
Linux is 40% cheaper than Microsoft's operating
system.
The IBM-sponsored study from the Robert Frances Group found it
cost £40,149 to buy, implement and run an application server on
Linux for three years compared to £67,559 for Windows. Sun Solaris
cost 54% more than Linux.
The lack of a licensing fee with Linux is cited as a major
factor behind these cost savings, as is the easy crossover between
Unix and Linux skills which, says the report, will also play a huge
part in lowering cost of ownership, as well as lower support and
maintenance, says IBM.
But plans by Microsoft and some Unix vendors to lower licensing
fees will erode these cost savings. As Linux users begin to buy the
usual support and management tools and other features that
accompany proprietary operating systems, the gap will close even
further.
This is the latest spat in a long-running debate between the
Microsoft Windows camp on one side and Linux on the other.
IBM's report, TCO for Application Servers: Comparing Linux with
Windows and Solaris follows a two-year "Get the facts" campaign
from Microsoft, which has continually whittled away at the claimed
benefits of Linux.
Backing its Linux claims even further is another IBM-sponsored
study by research firm Pund-IT, whose report, "Beyond TCO - The
Unanticipated Second Stage Benefits of Linux", outlines yet further
benefits. Linux will reduce hardware upgrade costs, attract new IT
people interested in open source and consolidate server workloads,
it suggests.