Linux evaluation, adoption on uptick, study finds

16.03.2009
Interest in Linux is accelerating because of the downturn in the economy, according to a study by IDC that was sponsored by .

More than 72% of the 300 IT executives who responded to the survey said they are actively or have already decided to increase adoption of Linux server in 2009. On the , 68% say they are evaluating or have decided to increase adoption of the open source operating system.

The top reason for migrating to Linux is economic and driven by the need to lower ongoing support costs, according to the survey. Of the respondents, 49% said Linux would be their primary server platform in five years.

"In the downturn, Linux might be the Wal-Mart of IT, where people get the most for their money," said Justin Steinman, vice president of solution and product marketing for Novell.

The survey comes at a time when Novell is nearing launch of the next version of its server and desktop operating system -- Suse Linux -- and Microsoft is expected to ship either later this year or in early 2010.

The survey also found that 67% of users said interoperability and manageability between Linux and Windows is one of the most important evaluation criteria.