Study: Linux sales down, but not out

NEWS

Linux sales lost some ground to Windows last year, but are expected to climb in coming years as distributors of the alternative operating system create new revenue streams. According to market research firm IDC, Linux sales declined nearly 5 percent in 2001 to $80m (£51m), but are expected to grow to a $280m market in 2006. Meanwhile, Windows sales climbed 11 percent to more than $10bn last year, according to IDC analyst Al Gillen. "The Linux operating system market, from a revenue perspective, accounts for one half of 1 percent of the total operating system revenue each year, or roughly two days' worth of Microsoft's operating system revenue," Gillen said. "On the second day of January, Microsoft had generated more operating system revenue than the Linux community (will for the entire year)." IDC based its projection of $280m in sales within four years on efforts by Red Hat, SuSE and others to wring more money from Linux, in part by making it more difficult for users to obtain the software for free, Gillen said. "What we're expecting the revenue to come from is the fact that the Linux vendors are moving toward a model where they're trying to drive revenue per server," Gillen said. For example, Red Hat doesn't offer downloads with which others can easily create installation CDs for its high-end Advanced Server edition. And while the software may be installed on multiple computers -- unlike Windows -- Red Hat charges per server for subscriptions to the Red Hat Network for online services. While experts still can assemble the required Linux components for free and create the same package that companies sell, customers will be leery of using that sort of customised software, Gillen said. Linux, a clone of the venerable Unix operating system, began 11 years ago as the programming project of Linus Torvalds, but now it is collectively developed by hundreds of programmers across the globe. Linux has gained real-world credentials, most prominently as a central part of IBM's strategy to compete with Sun Microsystems and Microsoft. Linux is an open-source project, meaning that it's free to share, change or distribute its underlying programming instructions, called source code. In contrast, tight controls govern who may see and change the source code of operating systems such as Sun's Solaris and Microsoft's Windows. During the dot-com boom, Linux was one of the hot trends that captured investor attention. The first Linux company to hold an initial public offering, Red Hat has solidified its role as the dominant Linux specialist. Red Hat garnered nearly three-quarters of the revenue in 2001, Gillen said. "The rest of the players are bit players. Most of what's left is held by SuSE. Everyone else is in the low single digits or smaller," he said. Linux is best suited for use in servers, the higher-end computers that often run 24 hours a day handling tasks such as corporate email. Most Linux revenue came from this market, Gillen said. IDC declined to release the numbers of copies of Linux that were sold, but said the number stayed about level from 2000 to 2001. The number of copies that sold for "client" computers such as desktops and workstations, however, increased nearly 50 percent over 2000, in particular in Asia and Latin America, Gillen said. Another ally and supporter of the Linux movement is Intel, which is using Linux to help drive adoption of its Pentium, Xeon and new Itanium family processors into servers. The vast majority of Linux is used on Intel processors, Gillen said.

For all your GNU/Linux and open source news, from the latest kernel releases to the newest distributions, see ZDNet UK's Linux Lounge. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Go to the Linux forum. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

ZDNet UK Live

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

1 hour ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

6 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

16 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

24 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Study: Linux sales down, but not out

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

HP boosts Red Hat's Itanium push

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Post your comment

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in IT Strategy

Heart of England NHS begins massive digitisation plan

Hard-drive woes hit PC shipments in fourth quarter

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

PHP Web Developer - html, css, javascript

Java Developer, Online Gaming, London

Quant Dev, Hedge Fund, FX, Excel VBA

Inside ZDNet UK

A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint

2012 Predictions: VCE FastPath, VI SAN Probe & Hadoop

BlackBerry Bold 9790

Make faster, smarter decisions using BI

Ten factors that make Ubuntu 11.10 a hit

Toshiba Portégé Z830-10P Review

BT's archive: Pictures from the vault

News & Analysis

Reviews

Blogs

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features

ZDNet UK / News and Analysis / Business of IT / IT Strategy

Study: Linux sales down, but not out

Daily Newsletters

Topics

Related stories

Post your comment

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

Latest in IT Strategy

Featured white papers

Latest jobs

Inside ZDNet UK

Resources

About Us

Member Services

Special Features

Advertising Features