Linux neither better nor cheaper than Windows, say analysts

According to the survey, which took the views of 1,000 IT administrators and C-level executives (a collective term for Chief Executive titles – CEO, CFO, CTO, CIO) worldwide, corporate customers report that Linux provides businesses with excellent performance, reliability, ease of use and security.

Despite the first-rate technical merits of the Linux operating system, the survey found that the system is equal to but not superior to Unix and Windows Server 2003.

The survey also reported that 90% of the 300 large enterprises with 10,000 or more end users indicated that a significant or total switch from Windows to Linux would be prohibitively expensive, extremely complex and time consuming, and would not provide any tangible business gains for the organisation.

"In large enterprises, a significant Linux deployment or total switch from Windows to Linux, would be three to four times more expensive and take three times as long to deploy as an upgrade from one version of Windows to newer Windows releases," said Laura DiDio, Yankee Group Application Infrastructure & Software Platforms senior analyst.

"The instances where Linux imparts measurably improved TCO [total cost of ownership] compared with Unix and Windows are in small firms with customized vertical applications or new, greenfield networking situations," she added.

The survey further found that although Linux's momentum is undeniable, the open source operating system would not dethrone Microsoft Windows as the leading server vendor in the next two years. And Linux desktops are not expected to make a perceptible dent in Windows' 94% market share between now and 2006.