TechWorld: Linux v Microsoft: The Battle for Hearts and Servers

“Following a widely publicised move from Windows to Linux at
Munich City Council last month, Microsoft this week lauded three
new contracts in Frankfurt, Latvian capital Riga and Turku in
Finland. So was Munich just a flash in the pan or is Microsoft
seriously worried about Linux as a force in the desktop market?

“It seems that the German public sector is the battleground,
with Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily recently praising
open source and over 500 public authorities officially asking to
hear more. German analyst firm Soreon Research has estimated that
the number of organisations using open source software will jump
from 12 per cent today to 18 per cent in 2005 and 24 per cent by
2007.

“Microsoft argues however that Linux’s apparent success is one
of perception not reality. ‘The common perception in the media
today seems to be the growth of open source solutions, particularly
with governments,’ reads a Microsoft press release. ‘This, however,
is not the case and in fact many governments are evaluating Open
Source solutions, realising the cost disadvantages and long-term
costs, and selecting the higher-value, stable, easy to use
Microsoft solutions…'”

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