Category: OS

According to Access Markets International, Japan MBs have are ready to embark on the deployment of open-source server databases. Linux and open-source middleware is used by 18% and 12%, respectively, of Japan-based MBs. Such figures are comparable with their US counterparts and higher than MBs in France and the U.K. However, in terms of the usage of the open-source server database such as My SQL, Japanese MBs are lowest in the developed world, at 5%, as compared to an adoption rate of between 13% and 40% among advanced markets in the US, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region outside of Japan.

Net Applications report on operating system market shares based on Internet visits puts Windows XP at 78.37%, followed by Windows Vista with 9.19%. The long tail of the OSs used while accessing the Web features Apple iPhone at 0.09%, PlayStation 3, Sony PSP and Nintendo Wii at 0.01% each.

According to NetApplications, Windows XP remains the dominant operating system in the world in September 2007, followed by Windows Vista with 7.38% and Mac OS with 3.38%.

To date, over 145 mln Symbian smartphones have been sold worldwide to more than 250 major network operators. Symbian leads the market with a global market share of 72% of the smartphone OS market during Q2 2007.

Over the next 5 years, Linux is expected to be the fastest growing Smartphone OS with a compound annual growth rate in excess of 75%. By 2012, a recent study from ABI Research forecasts the Linux-based OS to account for nearly 31% of all smart devices in the market, representing more than 331 mln cumulative shipments over the same period.

Last year 87% of CIOs who weren’t using Linux told UBS that they were not going to start using this OS. In 2007, the percentage went up to 90%, UBS says. Windows machines had 80% market share of deployed machines, up from 62% in January 2007. The market share of Unix machines dropped from 28% to 13%, largely as a result of companies moving from Unix to Linux. Interest in hosted CRM applications has increased from 33% to 62%; most respondents expect to roll out Windows Vista in the second half of 2008; and nearly 70% of CIOs expect IT spending to increase in 2007, regardless of macro-economic trends and events.

79.9% of businesss machines do not match Microsoft’s recommended requirements for premium-ready PCs to be upgraded to Vista, Everdream says. The biggest obstacle to a smooth transition to the new operating system is the amount of random access memory (RAM) the computers contain. Microsoft requires a baseline of 512 MB of RAM but recommends 1 GB; a mere 30% of the desktops surveyed meet the latter figure. 69.5% of machines do not have the required RAM. 62.4% of machines do not have the required hard drive. 18.4% of machines do not have the required free hard drive space. 6.7% of machines do not have the required processor speed. 79.9% of machines do not meet at least one of the above listed requirements. 93.8% of companies have at least one machine that does not meet the above requirements.

ABI Research forecasts that by 2012, more than 127 mln devices will be enabled with a commercial Linux OS, up from 8.1 mln in 2007. Additionally, device shipments that incorporate Linux as an RTOS replacement are set to grow to more than 76 mln units in 2012, up from nearly zero in 2007.

The PC-based point-of-sale (POS) market in North America experienced an 8% shipment increase in 2006, says IHL Consulting Group. Replacements by retail giants like Kroger and Wal-Mart generated the majority of shipments for the Grocery, Supercenter and Mass Merchant segments. Windows XP Embedded shipments grew by 242%, and shipments of WEPOS (Windows Embedded for Point of Service) grew by 80%. Pep Boys, Burlington Coat Factory and Circuit City helped to grow the Linux installed base by 44% in 2006.

After two consecutive quarters of single-digit revenue growth, Linux server revenue growth accelerated once again, growing 15.3% to $1.8 bln when compared with Q4 2005. Linux servers now represent 11.9% of all server revenue, up more than 1 point over Q4 2005. However, after eighteen quarters of double digit shipment growth, Linux server shipments declined 0.8% YTY as IT consolidation extends its reach into the open source domain.

Forbes reports there are now 665 mln copies of XP installed worldwide, giving it 74.3% share of the PC installed base. Other versions of Windows account for another 190 mln units, or 21.6% share.

During calendar year 2007, Windows Vista Home products are projected to account for 90% of new Windows client operating environments deployed by home users. By comparison, Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Enterprise will account for 35% of the new Windows client operating environments deployed by business users. During the second full year of availability, Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Enterprise will grow to account for 80% of new deployments. On the business front, 82% of Windows Vista deployments are expected to be the Business edition, while the remaining 18% will be Windows Vista Enterprise. Through 2010, IDC forecasts Windows client operating environments to experience a 2005-2010 CAGR of 8.2%, leading to a total in excess of 200,000 annual shipments of Windows COEs in 2010.

Microsoft Windows servers continued to show nice growth as revenues grew 4.6% YTY. Significantly, quarterly factory revenue of $4.8 bln for Windows servers represented the largest single segment of the server market, gaining nearly 3.0 points of revenue share sequentially. Linux server revenue was $1.5 bln for the quarter as growth continues to moderate, with YTY revenue growth of 5.4%. Although Linux servers now represent 11.8% of all server revenue, revenue growth for the quarter was approximately one sixth the growth rate observed in Q3 2005 as volume market growth moderates and YTY compares become more difficult. Unix servers experienced a 1.7% decline in factory revenue YTY. Worldwide Unix revenues of more than $3.9 bln for the quarter represented 30.1% of overall quarterly factory revenue, IDC says.

Windows XP will be running on nearly 75% of PCs worldwide by the end of 2006. Windows Vista’s release is planned for early 2007, and by the end of 2007 will be running on less than 10% of machines in the installed base, Gartner reports.

The Diffusion Group forecasts that Linux will surpass SymbianOS marketshare in smartphones by 2010 with 26.6% of the market.

According to the Yankee Group, only Unix-based operating systems beat Windows on uptime. Windows 2003 Server led Red Hat Enterprise Linux with nearly 20% more annual uptime. On average, individual enterprise Windows, Linux, and Unix servers experienced 3 to 5 failures per server per year in 2005, generating 10 to 19.5 hours of annual downtime for each server.

Windows XP will be running on more than 70% of PCs worldwide by the end of 2006. The Windows Vista release is being delayed until early 2007, and by the end of 2007 it will be running on less than 8% of machines in the installed base, according to Gartner.

IT outsourcing revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa will rise from $58 bln in 2003 to $90.9 bln in 2009 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.8%. Infrastructure and application outsourcing continue to be growth areas, Gartner says.