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[Tvoivozhd <tvoivozd AT infionline.net>]

In the U.S. market, that is.  By trying to put off the evil day in which 
Microsoft has to compete against Linux, Microsoft has already lost the 
huge Asian market. 


*Switching to Linux picks up steam*

By David Becker <mailto:david.becker AT cnet.com>
CNET News.com
August 30, 2004, 12:24 PM PT
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*About a third of businesses plan to migrate at least some Windows 
machines to Linux, according to a recent survey, but adoption will 
continue to be both slow and cautious, as companies evaluate a maze of 
economic factors.*

In a report on total cost of ownership for the Linux, Unix and Microsoft 
Windows operating systems, research company The Yankee Group found that 
only 4 percent of businesses planned to migrate Unix servers 
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103_2-5323487.html?tag=nl> to Linux within 
the next two years. A total of 11 percent intended to move Windows 
servers to Linux, while 21 percent proposed to add Linux servers to a 
predominantly Windows environment.

On the desktop, 36 percent of businesses expected to have a few Linux 
PCs <http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5202145.html?tag=nl> in their 
business, but only 5 percent planned a total migration to Linux. A 
majority--57 percent--planned no changes for Windows on the desktop.


The report cites a number of factors for corporate caution in moving to 
Linux, most notably the increasingly complex calculations required to 
determine whether such moves are cost-effective 
<http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1104_2-5185069.html?tag=nl>.

"All of the firms would like to reduce the amount of up-front capital 
expenditure dollars they spend on expensive Windows and Unix software 
licenses," the report found. "However, they also recognize that in 
certain instances, a wholesale or significant switch to Linux might 
reduce up-front costs but result in higher overall costs."

Factors to consider in such a cost analysis range from interoperability 
with existing applications to the relative scarcity of trained Linux 
support personnel. "The establishments that have or are seriously 
considering Linux bemoaned the present dearth and high cost of skilled 
Linux administrators, even as they praised the open-source operating 
system's ease of use," the report stated.

Such concerns may loom larger if a company is governed by a central IT 
strategy, which would discourage a piecemeal approach to technology 
adoption, Yankee analyst Dana Gardner said.

"The position companies need to look at is whether there's a tactical or 
strategic role for Linux and open source," Gardner said. "They're 
looking at what would be a strategic platform that's fully integrated 
and supported."

The report found that even businesses that were relatively satisfied 
with Windows are making some use of Linux, however--as a bargaining chip 
in negotiating with Microsoft on further purchases. "We have no 
intention of switching to Linux," an unnamed MIS manager is quoted as 
saying in the report, "but we do find it useful as a stone to throw at 
Microsoft."