Windows Server Sales Booming, Linux Growing Faster

The market for Windows-based server systems is growing fast, but Linux-based systems are growing much faster in revenues and units,
according to the latest quarterly data from market analysts at IDC.

The Windows-based and Linux-based servers are riding an overall trend in server purchases toward higher volume, lower cost sales. The same trend sees
No. 4 Dell climbing in the vendor rankings to within striking distance of No. 3 Sun Microsystems.

Meanwhile, the Q3 2003 results are the second consecutive quarter of growth in the overall server market after nine consecutive quarters of declines.
Worldwide server systems revenues were up 2 percent to $10.8 billion, according to IDC’s report last week. “Two quarters of positive growth do not
necessarily mean that a long-lasting economic rebound is in place,” Vernon Turner, an IDC analyst, said in a statement.