The Register: Windows Costs Less than Linux. A Bit. Sometimes–MS Study

“Windows 2000 servers are cheaper to run than Linux ones,
sometimes, says an IDC study which was by strange coincidence
sponsored by Microsoft. The study will come as welcome relief to
Microsoft salespeople who have been parroting the ‘cheaper than
Linux’ line to general disbelief, but whether anyone else will
believe it is another matter.

“Nor indeed should we take the study at anything like face
value. IDC set itself the task of measuring total cost of ownership
of the two server operating systems over a five year period,
segmenting this into five areas of server operation. Over a period
of years one would naturally expect differences in the purchase
price of software and hardware to account for a declining
proportion of TCO, with support and staffing costs accounting for
an increasing proportion. And lo! This indeed is what IDC
found.

“However, erm, correct us if we’re wrong but we were under the
impression that obstinate corporate customers who hung onto their
Windows servers for a whole five years without upgrading were more
or less open source loving commies in the eyes of Redmond…”

Complete
Story