Over the last few decades, the server operating system market has evolved considerably to meet the needs of technology developments, with Linux emerging as its leading platform. Linux is a proven open source technology that has captured the mindshare (and market share) of everyday users and organizations worldwide — with large followings
among ITOps, DevOps, and security professionals. As organizations continue to future proof their operations and undertake IT projects in pursuit of new initiatives and digital transformation, especially when using more complex and increasingly popular contemporary technologies such as cloud native, containers, and AI/ML, IDC’s research suggests that most will do so by deploying associated workloads on top of Linux.

Users acquire and consume Linux as a technology in one of two ways: non-paid (free) and commercial (paid/fee), with many on either side of the coin when choosing free or fee-based Linux. IDC’s research finds that while having no acquisition costs is certainly a compelling reason for decision-makers to deploy non-paid Linux, they often fail to recognize many benefits of opting for commercial Linux. We find that the benefits associated with deploying commercial Linux (e.g., improved staff productivity, more projects completed, less downtime, and denser workload configurations) often outweigh its costs (e.g., licensing/subscriptions and paid vendor support) in most enterprise environments, and many overall returns on investment for commercial Linux customers are greater than those of those using non-paid Linux alternative products.