From the ‘Self-Serving Stats’ files:
Nearly every year that I’ve been writing about Linux, I’ve seen at least one report (if not more) showing that Linux adoption is on the rise.
The latest example came this week from the Linux Foundation. Yes, their data is self-serving, but the trend is clear and it has been for the last decade.
Linux is on a growth curve.
(and no you shouldn’t be surprised).
What is changing are some of the technologies where Linux is being used. For example, the Linux Foundation report found that 72 percent of respondents are using Linux for Big Data (I’m surprised it’s not 100 percent).
Another finding that is consistent with other reports, I see year after year is that technical issues related to Linux usage are dropping. According to the Linux Foundation, technical issues cited by
Linux users dropped 40 percent, from 20.3 percent in 2010 to 12.2 percent today. In my opinion, that’s a clear indication of the growth of Linux skills in the market as well as improvements in tooling and user-interfaces for many Linux server technologies.
The other interesting fact that showed up in this report is that 70 percent said that lower cost of ownership was a key driver for adopting Linux. That’s right, even after all these years, it’s still all about the money.
While it’s hard for me to get too excited about these stats, seeing as I expect them, it’s still important to recognize the continued momentum that Linux has, year after year.
Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at InternetNews.com, the news service of the IT Business Edge Network, the network for technology professionals. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist