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The Linux Foundation Releases Report Detailing Linux User Trends Among World’s Largest Companies

By 12/03/20148月 22nd, 2017Press Release

Cloud computing and security drive increasing adoption of Linux among the largest enterprises

SAN FRANCISCO, December 3, 2014 – The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and collaborative development, today announced the immediate release of the “2014 Enterprise End User Trends Report,” which shares new and trending data that reveals Linux is the primary platform for the cloud and users consider the operating system more secure than alternative platforms. The findings also show a 14-point increase in Linux deployments over the last four years, while deployments on Windows have experienced a 9-point decline.  

The data in the report reflects the results of an invitation-only survey of The Linux Foundation’s Enterprise End User Council as well as other companies and government organizations. The report and data is based on the responses of individuals from organizations with sales of $500 million or more or 500 or more employees. This is the fourth report released on a generally annual basis and is produced in partnership with Yeoman Technology Group.

Key findings from this year’s report include:

  • Linux leads enterprise shift to cloud. Linux remains the go-to choice for the cloud, with 75 percent of enterprises reporting they use Linux as their primary cloud platform. These numbers compare to fewer than 24 percent using Windows and less than two percent using UNIX to support the cloud.
  • Enterprises consider Linux superior in technical prowess, security, and cost. In fact, 78 percent of enterprises feel Linux is more secure than other operating systems, an important consideration in light of increasing scrutiny on the security of projects that support the world’s software infrastructure.
  • Linux continues its year-over-year growth—at the expense of other operating systems. Linux remains the platform of choice for enterprises running it; more than 87 percent added Linux servers this year, and 82 percent plan to add more in the next year. In fact, deployment on Linux has risen while deployment on Windows continues to fall.
  • Rapid growth continues to raise concerns about finding Linux talent. The concern among the world’s largest enterprises about finding trained Linux staff remains at just above 40 percent—and is the largest concern cited.

“The way software is built today is modeled after the methodologies and principles used to build Linux, the world’s largest collaborative development project,” said Amanda McPherson, vice president of marketing and developer services, The Linux Foundation. “The Enterprise End User Report gives us important insight into how the world’s largest users are deploying Linux in the most complex environments and that can inform how to sustain Linux development for decades to come.” 

The Enterprise Linux User survey is not intended to be an assessment of the overall penetration of Linux in the market, nor is it designed as a cross-platform study. It’s also important to note that enterprise users who are motivated to take a survey from The Linux Foundation are not an unbiased lot, but the size of these organizations, their buying power and technical prowess – as filtered by The Linux Foundation and Yeoman – can provide important guidance both for Linux vendors and developers, as well as their competitors. 

To download the full report, please visit The Linux Foundation’s Publications site.

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is a nonprofit consortium dedicated to fostering the growth of Linux and collaborative software development. Founded in 2000, the organization sponsors the work of Linux creator Linus Torvalds and promotes, protects and advances the Linux operating system and collaborative software development by marshaling the resources of its members and the open source community. The Linux Foundation provides a neutral forum for collaboration and education by hosting Collaborative Projects, Linux conferences including LinuxCon, and generating original research and content that advances the understanding of Linux and collaborative software development. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

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