IDC sees potential for further Linux adoption

Economic downturns have a tendency to accelerate emerging technologies, boost the adoption of effective solutions, and punish solutions that are not cost-competitive or are out of sync with industry trends. So says a recent IDC study, which finds that Linux users are clearly satisfied about their choice to deploy Linux, and during trying economic times, the potential for those same customers to ramp up their deployment of Linux is strong.


The second generation of major releases based on the 2.6.x Linux kernel emerging from the industry’s top vendors, feature more mature management tools, integrated virtualization, and virtualization-compatible use rights. They also boast a larger application portfolio and better interoperability with other mainstream corporate IT solutions.


A worldwide survey by IDC capturing data on usage plans and satisfaction levels with Linux server operating systems finds that Linux customers are highly satisfied and are ready to deploy additional Linux instances as a direct action in response to budget concerns or budgetary reductions being imposed by corporate management.


IDC found that 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. Retail is the most aggressive sector in terms of planning to increase adoption of Linux on the client (63%) and on the server (69%). Financial services and manufacturing are not far behind.


Commenting on this latest IDC report, Brian Farrell, MD of Securelinx stated, “many organisations have been leveraging the value of Linux for many years but what is more noticeable now is the willingness of enterprises to consider Open Source tool-sets in preference to more expensive vendor offerings. OP5′s Nagios-based monitoring solutions would be a good example of this trend”