Linux products and services to touch $7.7 bn by 2012

DUBLIN, IRELAND: Research and Markets has announced the addition of Open Source market forecast: Linux to their offering.

The report analyses and forecasts Linux software and service revenue opportunities in enterprises and public sector organisations, as well as among individual consumers. We look at both the server and client markets, but exclude the embedded Linux market.

The market for Linux products and services will grow from $2.4 bn in 2007 to $7.7 bn in 2012. Growth will slow down from 36 per cent in 2008 to 17 per cent in 2012. The revenue figures are small compared to other operating system (OS) markets, but the impact of Linux on other OSs will be much more significant than these figures would lead you to believe.

Linux service revenues will grow faster than Linux software revenues. Services will grow from 77 per cent to 81 per cent of the total Linux market between 2007 and 2012, as Linux use becomes more complex. The server market is the main segment of the overall Linux market. This segment accounts for 83 per cent of the market in 2007. However, by 2012, Linux's importance as a client OS will have grown and, as a result, server-based use of Linux software and services will reduce to 81 per cent of the overall market.