Recession Driving Linux Adoption at the Expense of Windows

The global recession will drive the adoption of the Linux open source operating system to the detriment of Windows, an IDC study commissioned by Novell reveals. The worldwide economic downturn is nothing short of fertile soil for Linux, with IDC predicting that the platform has the potential to gain a critical foothold in the industry and increase its relevance. “53% of respondents are planning to increase adoption of Linux on the server and 48% are planning to increase adoption of Linux on the client as a direct result of the economic climate,” a fragment of the study reads.

Linux is enjoying the most consistent uptake in the Asia/Pacific region, with no less than 73% of the respondents indicating that they plan to deploy the open source operating system on servers, and 70% also looking to the platform for client installations. In the Americas, the percentages are slightly lower, but still strong, with 66% informing of deployment plans on desktops and 67% on servers. Windows continues to be the number one impediment in the increase of Linux's uptake.

“The Windows platform holds a majority position both on PCs and on x86 server hardware, and it is the single most pervasive competitor and largest threat to the long-term growth potential for Linux. For many customers, Linux is not seen as a viable alternative to existing installed Windows solutions,” IDC adds.

IDC has identified a number of reasons fueling Linux adoption. First off, lower costs associated with the platform are a way around suffering IT budgets worldwide. Another reason involves what IDC has referred to as a new phase of maturity for Linux, as the open source OS moves to the 2.6.x Linux kernel. At the same time, the growing success of netbooks, as well as the increasing tendency for OEMs to upload the open source platform on their devices, offer new chances for adoption to increase.

“The economic downturn of 2009 will be a demarcation line that is likely to highlight an acceleration toward adoption of standardized architecture across the industry. The standardization layers will include standardized blade chassis, x86 servers, Linux, and virtualization software,” an except of the study's conclusion pinpoints.