Microsoft loses ground to Linux

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Over the last two months dealers in Kanpur market are observing a gradual shift from proprietary to open source adoption. Customers are now enquiring about Linux and its applications and are keener to try it out. Partners failed to comment on the specific ratio of Linux purchase but said that this shift in the buying trend is actually the boomerang effect of dealers promoting genuine MS software in the market. SOHO and SMB buyers are the ones who are looking at Linux as a good alternative to Microsoft.

For the last two years, the Kanpur Computer Dealers Association has been making efforts to support the 'Genuine Software' campaign driven by the software giant. However, the high price of original software is causing customers to give it a second while making purchase decision.

Dealers also claimed that they are not impressed by the vendor's modus operandi of trapping dealers into selling pirated software to a decoy customer and then penalizing them. Besides this, they get calls from the company's representatives incessantly to push for original software. While this might have led to an increased awareness amongst customers, partners find this too annoying.

"Partners are caught between customers and vendor. They cannot promote piracy as Microsoft has been insisting that dealers go for genuine products. Customers on the other hand are not ready to buy the original software, due to its high cost. At the end of the day, we have to keep both of them happy and this causes inconvenience for us," commented Arun Bhargava, President, KCDA.

"Microsoft OS has been in the market for a long time and it is difficult for the customers to switch over to a new application. Customers do not visit us specifically to buy Linux. But when we try to convince them to go for original MS software, then they look for other options. This trend has marked a drop in the sale of MS and Linux will pick up in the coming time," predicted Sunil Bhukania of Bhukania Computronic.

Talking about generating ecosystem for Linux and the technical operations involved in it, Piyush Jain of Well Known Computers said that in the absence of any feasible option, customers would gradually learn the operations of Linux and they will soon adapt themselves to it as they start working on it.

Commenting on the changing trend, Brian Campbell, Director - Original Software Initiative, Microsoft India said, "While free software has been an option that has been available to customers for several years, we believe customers see the value and usability of Windows, and this is the reason that the global market share for the product is currently over 95 percent."

"Over the years we have made efforts to bring out products which cater to the specific needs of different audience segments, while at the same time ensuring that they get the most value out of their technology. For instance, in the case of Windows Vista or Office 2007, both offerings come in multiple editions that are designed to cater to the needs of the target segments - education, home, small business, enterprise or the technology connoisseur," Campbell elaborated.