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For six years, the Internet Nexus served as my technology blog, but I've since started blogging at the SuperSite Blog instead. If you're looking for the blog, please head there. --Paul

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Linux market share levels off

Yahoo Finance reports on a phenomena that I've been expecting for a while now:

Two interesting surveys released this week by IDC and Evans spell good news for Microsoft in its battle with the Linux open source software operating system for systems dominance.

IDC reports that Windows server revenue grew faster than Linux server revenue in Q107, a placement Microsoft had never achieved before in the almost 10 years IDC has been fielding the server-sales tracking survey.

That indicates to me that Linux as a server platform is leveling off much sooner than proponents anticipated. Red Hat (RAT) has been clear of late that its business is about UNIX migration rather than beating Windows.

The absolute Linux-based server sales number of $1.6 billion for the quarter is at one third of Microsoft’s Windows server sales, which at $4.8 billion represent 38% of all server revenue.

I think I just wrote about this. The problem for Linux is that Windows Server is high-quality and offers an amazing range of functionality. In the end, the Achilles Heel of Linux is that it's always playing catch-up, and that's true whether you're talking about the server or the desktop: There's no real innovation in the Linux space once you get past the supposed free-ness of it all.

Labels: Linux

[ Posted at 9:11 AM | Permalink ]