Analyst firm IDC believes Unix will remain the first choice for mission critical applications for at least another three years.
Unix will Reign over Windows for Years
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
The article says that UNIX will remain the platform of choice for mission critical apps in the Pacific Rim until 2006. Furthermore half of all servers in the region run Windows. The headline gives the impression that Unix completely dominates Windows in total installations all over the world.
Everything they say is mearly conjecture, opinion-based and only comes true about as often as the weather-person is dead-on correct with their forecasts…
Heck, if you want an analysis, here is one…
Due to the low-cost of Linux and the number of highschools and community colleges that are beginning to teach administration courses based upon this OS platform, Linux will lead the way in Server usage within the course of the next ten years. This is due to the fact that more small to medium sized businesses hire technical people with High School and Community College degrees then those with higher priced and higher salary demanding degrees.
With the strong knowledge of Linux, these IT Professionals will quickly and often quietly switch servers off of the possibily existing or simply build servers using the OS platform that they are the most familiar with.
Since it is a known fact that Small to Medium sized business are in greater numbers and actually purchase, altogether, more goods and services then all of the Fortune 1000 Companies combined. Linux, as a server platform, will far outpave and dominate the once heavily entrenched Windows Server market.
Of course, if Microsoft were to develop a cost-effective, flexible, open-ended server product without the troubles of Client Access Licenses, then Linux and Windows will eventually even out into a dead heat over which platform runs more small to medium sized businesses…
See, the above statements made it look as though Linux will definately rule the world, but it left a way out with a Pro-Microsoft statement regarding a potential non-existence-likely-won’t-ever-exist product. Typically, that type of statement is what comes out of the mouths of “Analysts”.
Of course, by the time that either my analysis or the IDC analysis can come true or be proven false, most everyone that will have read both of these pieces will have forgotten them and in the case of the IDC piece, it will likely no longer be available to check the facts as it were.
If you want to put weight behind what is said in an analysis, go right ahead. I would rather use what works, scales well and has been proven to be quite cost-effective, over the long-haul.
trying telling anyone in a mission critical area (like telecom for example) that they should try out MS windows and will never stop laughing!! Even by 2006 – they will still be laughing.
If you want stability and security there is nowhere else to look than at UNIX and UNIX-like systems. I work in the telecom industry and there is no way we would even consider a MS OS in 2006!! Why should we when superior OS’s are available for free on the net!??
regards /texas
I’d like to see the title of this article as “Windows will reign over UNIX in three years time”
is stable. It really is. I use it to encode video for weeks at a time. It runs at 100% CPU all night long. Never crashes. But its very unstable for running games like Sim City 4 (always crashes), sound drivers stop working for no apparent reason, etc.
I should get paid by all the corporations that advertise on my desktop for each little annoyance I am forced to encounter. Pay me $0.05 for each popup asking me if I’m sure if you insist on having them. Because I’ll tell you. I’m a UNIX admin. I NEVER click that mouse button unless I am sure!
I give computers commands, not suggestions.
Why should we when superior OS’s are available for free on the net!??
so what are you using?
The free OS u are talking about descended from unix
I agree that windows server technologies will not be accepted as a replacement of many existing Unix system,, only the low end. and basically will go into companies with existing MS technologies deployed. but please, dont extrapolate, linux is NOT going to dominate the world either and replace the current investments in mainframe operating systems such as MVS, ZOS etc just because it;s open source or freely downloadable. Hello, the world is not just linux, there are other operating systems out there with reliability that linux only dreams of.
..again the analysts create the schism within the ranks of IT Professionals…
“Now that they are all arguing over whether VMS, MVS, ZOS, UNIX, Linux or Windows is better the true “game”, the upper management will read our words and determine that Windows is the obviously the only choice for the enterprise… Muwhahahahahaa….” laughs the analyst as he/she/it cashes the check from Microsoft for fanning flames and creating the smoke that the Microsoft Marketing teams need to deploy their Windows Artillery pieces…
It’s only an analyst people. If you don’t agree with it, get together and create your own analysis or true data to counter it. Arguing amongst ourselves does nothing to promote solid, stable, cost-effective solutions, no matter what those solutions might be.
john that was a stupid comment.
Unix handles more clients than windows does period.
I have handled both envoronmnets and Unix beats Windows hands down. not only can I take care of everything from my arm chair with Unix, I can do it faster and with fewer people and servers.
in a windows environment you have 3-5 times as many servers running and to install software you are running from the back room to the workstations. to add users you have to run from the back room to the workstation.
to do anything you have to run from the back room to the workstation.
Unix will remain as long as great IT people learn the difference between hype and junk and geek. Unix was built by geeks for the US and is still light years ahead in how it can run on really trusted machines. I worked on 8 way redundant systems. I have yet to see a MS machine actually verify data writes since the dos command.
reply to mike
texas: “Why should we when superior OS’s are available for free on the net!??”
mike: “so what are you using?”
Well mike, i was not talking about me myself but about Solaris which we use at work. But since you ask… I use both BSD’s and (gentoo) linux in my geek bunker
I can also tell you that there once was a mangement decision at work that we should develop software for both Solaris and WinNT but the latter was quickly dropped since none of our customers really wanted WinNT. It is not doable for machines that are allowed 4 hours of downtime per year for upgrades… Those managers are also gone now btw
In other words, i completely agree with jefro on “Unix will remain as long as great IT people learn the difference between hype and junk and geek.” Well said.
Reply to deep
deep: The free OS u are talking about descended from unix
It sure does. and with 30+ years of development on UNIX systems it is no surprise it beats WinNT in all areas but cute icons
regards /texas
I can also tell you that there once was a mangement decision at work that we should develop software for both Solaris and WinNT but the latter was quickly dropped since none of our customers really wanted WinNT. It is not doable for machines that are allowed 4 hours of downtime per year for upgrades… Those managers are also gone now btw
I guess I’m not harming my NDA if I say that this story is SO familiar to me! Very, very familiar, and with the same players: NT tried, almost destroyed the project, went with Unix like the other guys, never looked back. Proj. man. left company.
For some reason this page does not come up. The ZDnet banner comes up but nothing else. As for commenting on the article I just can’t.
Why by 2006? Is there some magical OS from m$ descending from the heavens at this point in time? Really Kakarot, your way too forgiving sometimes to be a true Saiyan.
?
in a windows environment you have 3-5 times as many servers running and to install software you are running from the back room to the workstations. to add users you have to run from the back room to the workstation.
Congratulations, you have just demonstrated your complete lack of ability at administering a Windows environment.
being a good windows admin is like being the best snowboarder in all of africa.
does a base install of windows have remote *CONSOLE*(inherently scriptable preferred) administration features? (a yes/no will do, i don’t pollute my mind with windows knowledge beyond this)
UNIX is, has been, and probably always will be, the OS of choice for Lucent/Avaya as the OS that runs the 5ESS switch, it has run the Definity, the System 75/85, and the older System 25. These are phone systems, in case anyone was wondering. (I am a PBX Technician for a living, so I have used these) Several of my customers have migrated to UNIX for their server/network applications. I use UNIX at home and enjoy it very much…if for nothing else other than the joy of using such a powerful and elegant system. (And UNIX in command-prompt mode w/o a GUI surfs the web like a bat out of hell!) UNIX has run UNINTERRUPTED on several machines I see regularly for months at a time. Windows doesn’t come close. Period.
MAYBE….MAYBE…Microsoft will be able to play catch-up, but what will it cost? What will the license fees be?
OK…I’m done preaching.
Have a nice day.
John
I use both BSD’s
You use BOTH FreeBSD and NetBSD and OpenBSD?
being a good windows admin is like being the best snowboarder in all of africa.
Well said =) Can I use that line sometime?
Good Grief You use BOTH FreeBSD and NetBSD and OpenBSD?
Yeah, both three of ’em in parallel
Good to see people with a sense of humor here!
take care /texas
I think both was meant for FreeBSD and OpenBSD because unless you have some “special” Omega(Tag Heuer etc.) watches or some high-tech-finger-ring you don’t really need NetBSD.
I always ignore NetBSD when *BSD comes in mind.
being a good windows admin is like being the best snowboarder in all of africa.
Because Windows environments are just *so* uncommon, aren’t they ? I mean, no-one would *ever* be looking for a Windows admin…
Being a good Windows admin (which I am not, I am merely a good Unix admin) means job security and a large paycheck. Much like being good at anything.
Of course, for the poster I was replying to, even calling themselves *bad* Windows admin would be delusions of adequacy.
does a base install of windows have remote *CONSOLE*(inherently scriptable preferred) administration features?
It has more than enough remote administrative features to be remotely administerable. I have to wonder why you are so hung up about being able to do it from a vt100, however. Or do you run your systems so badly you have to be able to dial in over a 300 baud satphone link with your Palm Pilot on your African snowboarding holidays ?