Linux Unpopular with Mid-Sized Companies -- Redmondmag.com

Linux Unpopular with Mid-Sized Companies

Support and costs to reconfigure systems keep the open-source OS out in the cold.

By Dan Hong
04/08/2005

While the Linux loyal at Slashdot.org love knocking Microsoft, most mid-sized companies are not interested in adopting Linux, a market research study found. Only 10 percent of medium-sized enterprises plan on evaluating Linux within the next three years, according to Info-Tech Research Group.

Of those companies that did not have Linux installed, 48 percent expressed no interest in implementing the operating system, in spite of the growing move towards open source among large companies.

Twenty-seven percent of the mid-sized companies surveyed had Linux installed.

“Although Linux is free, the support for it is not,” says Frank Koelsch, executive vice president of Info-Tech, in a statement. “For smaller organizations that already have a trained Windows-based support staff, adding Linux to the mix can add headcount, complexity and create havoc.”

The findings were part of Info-Tech Research Group’s annual “IT Priorities 2005” report. Over 1,400 companies participated in the survey, which focused on mid-sized enterprises in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

For more info on Info-Tech's report, click here.

About the Author

Dan Hong is the associate Web editor of MCPmag.com, CertCities.com, TCPmag.com, Redmondmag.com and RCPmag.com.

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