The State of Linux in 2002
Source: OS Opinion
Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW) in August joined IBM (NYSE: IBM), Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) in offering Linux as a server operating system. A month later, IBM expanded its prepackaged Linux server offerings. Even Apple computers can be purchased with Linux preinstalled. Clearly, the Linux bandwagon is gathering speed -- Sun has said it anticipates a 30 percent annual growth rate -- but where is it going?
One thing seems certain: In the future, Red Hat (Nasdaq: RHAT) is likely to remain the dominant Linux distributor. As an open source product, Linux is sold by several different companies, but Red Hat controls more than 50 percent of the North American market -- far more than any other vendor, according to Al Gillen, research director for system software at IDC.
IBM, HP and Dell all resell Red Hat's product, and while Sun offers its own flavor of Linux, that variant also builds on the Red Hat distribution, Gillen said.
