A small Linux survey

[ral]

Interesting article I found:

 

"A small Linux survey

Posted: 10:31 PM (Manila Time) | Oct. 23, 2002

INQ7.net

 

TWO weeks ago we ran a WebSphere-and-DB2-on-Linux application development class for IBM customers and business partners. We conducted a short survey among the 30 people in the room, and I am sharing with you some of the results below. Given the small and skewed sample population, this survey -- and whatever analyses derived from it -- should probably be described as imperfect. Still, the results should be instructive to look at, if only to catch a general feel of what the mainstream market is thinking.

 

Now, for the survey results. Please note that the questions allow for multiple responses.

 

1) What are your current plans with Linux?

 

Currently running Linux in production -- 19.23%

Currently testing/experimenting with Linux -- 61.53%

Considering installing Linux -- 19.23%

No plans to install Linux at this time -- 0%

Not sure -- 0%

 

It's interesting to note that all the respondents came from mainstream commercial businesses like retail, travel and transport, and banking; not one of them came from sectors traditionally strong in Linux such as ISPs and universities. A year ago, I'm sure the responses would have been skewed towards "No plans to use Linux" and "Not sure," but now, many are taking tentative steps in adopting Linux.

 

2) What languages do you currently use to develop your applications?

 

Java -- 50%

Perl -- 3.85%

Visual Basic -- 34.61%

C++ -- 11.53%

C# -- 7.69%

 

This second question should have allowed for a greater range of answers to test for other open source tools like PHP. However, what information we can glean from this points to Java as a development platform of choice for companies adopting Linux.

 

3) In your opinion, what are the barriers against widespread adoption of Linux?

 

Lack of awareness -- 50%

Lack of developer skills and education -- 26.92%

Lack of tools and products -- 15.38%

Vendor support -- 15.38%

Customer References -- 34.61%

Lack of standards -- 3.84%

 

This last question raises the issues that Linux advocates should address in promoting Linux. The significant gap is still in awareness and customer references, and this is something that needs to be worked on with greater urgency. At the same time, one can also view this optimistically and look at the opportunities for developing new business around Linux, such as training and support."

[Counterspy]

Thanks for posting those results. They seem to me to apply as much to the individual user as well as businesses. We all need answers to those questions when we try to sell it to committed Windows users or those who have never used anything else.

 

Counterspy

[ral]

One thing going against Linux in this country is piracy. There is less incetive to get free software, when you can get MS XP Pro and XP Office for $5-6.

 

I often have clients in the shop asking why we have different OS in different machines (6- Win95/2 - Win98SE/1 - Win2k, 2 -WinXP and RedHat 8.0 with 6 - Office 97, 3- Office 2000 and 2 - OpenOffice). Mainly, it depends on when we bought the machine.

 

Anyway, since we implemented a dual pricing scheme for computer rentals now, with the Redhat machine being rented for 25% less (since we buy low end machines --- right now Duron 1.1's software costs are about 40% to 50% of the acquisiton cost w/o the mandaotry Antivirus Software on Windows machines which we need to add after the first year).