“Linux is on a “slope of disillusionment” but it will become one
of the three primary server environments by 2005, said industry
researcher Gartner. “There has been tremendous hype [about Linux]
and now we are on a slope of disillusionment,” Gartner analyst
George Weiss told delegates at the company’s Symposium conference
in Florida this week.”
“There are high expectations that Linux will become an
infrastructure server and support Windows NT and legacy systems,
but this won’t happen soon,” he added.
Weiss, who is well known for his strong views on Linux, said the
operating system suffers because it is a fragmented environment,
there is a lack of adequate Linux skills, and because organisations
prefer to get service and support from a well-known vendor rather
than from a community of “enthusiasts”.
“Although Linux may not be ready for prime-time processing
yet, the open source operating system will be one of the three
primary server environments in 2005, said Weiss. By then, 80
per cent of the market will be shared between Linux, Windows 2000
and Unix, and 80 per cent of the Unix market will be controlled by
HP-UX, Sun Solaris and IBM AIX.”