While the global economic downturn is having a negative effect on the software market, a recent report by analyst firm IDC suggests that despite the adverse market conditions, the open source Linux operating system will actually increase in popularity.
The report, sponsored by the Linux Foundation, forecasts that whilecustomer spending in the overall software market, which encompasses Windows and Mac OS-based products, will only grow by 2pc this year, sales of Linux-related software is projected to increase by 21pc.
IDC suggests that the increasing popularity of the open source OS is due to its compatibility with two of the biggest trends in computing right now: cloud computing and virtualisation.
With this in mind, Linux-related software spending is projected to grow from US$12.3bn in 2008 to a healthy US$35.5bn in 2013.
According to Ars Technica, Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin has said that adoption of the Linux platform will grow two to three times faster than other platforms because of the economic downturn, as firms seek out cost-effective technical infrastructure.
By Marie Boran