The Desktop OS - Are There Real Alternatives to Microsoft?

Forget the market share statistics and unit shipment numbers. MicrosoftMicrosoft Corp.'s Windows 2000 Professional and XP Professional may be the biggest players in the client operating system space - but they are not the only players. There is room in the corporate environment for non-Microsoft Corp. desktop operating systems. In fact, there is more opportunity now for Windows rivals Linux and AppleApple Computer's Macintosh OS to insert themselves into the enterprise than at any time in the last 12 to 15 years. Alles zu Apple auf CIO.de Alles zu Microsoft auf CIO.de

Such a statement seemingly contradicts the conventional wisdom that Windows and XP are omniscient and ubiquitous. There is no denying that with 90% market share, Microsoft holds a virtual monopoly in the desktop OS and desktop application productivity suite arenas. Microsoft's grip will not likely be broken in the near future, but Linux and Apple's Macintosh OS X have an excellent opportunity to loosen that grip, and in so doing, cement and expand their current market positions.

Microsoft is in no danger of losing its dominant position in the foreseeable future. However, it is equally true that corporate user resentment toward Microsoft is at an all-time high. A myriad of issues, ranging from Microsoft's perceived monopolistic bullying practices, its hyperbolic marketing, ongoing security woes, and the habitually slipping ship dates of major new product releases (Windows .NET Server/Active Directory) and confusion surrounding the overall .NET strategy, have undermined corporate customer confidence. If all that weren't enough, echoes of the Department of Justice lawsuit linger - in terms of the settlement phase - as nine states continue to relentlessly pursue meaningful remedies. The final straw for many corporations is the forthcoming Microsoft Licensing 6.0 Program. After a nine-month Microsoft reprieve, it launches August 1, and is hugely unpopular. This cumulative dissatisfaction will not necessarily translate into corporate defections to rival operating systems, but it at least opens the door a crack and raises the possibility that Linux and Macintosh OS X can gain new footholds in an overwhelmingly Windows world (see Exhibit 1).

Der vollständige Bericht ist bei der Yankee Group erhältlich.