News
Microsoft Will Continue to Dominate OS Market, Says IDC
- By Scott Bekker
- 07/17/2000
Microsoft will maintain its stronghold on the client operating environment (COE) market for the foreseeable future, says a new report from industry analysts IDC.
In 1999, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation revenue growth was larger than the overall market's increase. According to the IDC (www.idc.com) report, NT Workstation revenue grew by $1.6 billion while the overall market grew by only $1.53 billion due to product declines that offset Microsoft's (www.microsoft.com) growth.
IDC models show that Windows products generated approximately 87 percent of revenues in the COE market during 1999. By 2004, NT Workstation and Windows 2000 Professional will account for just shy of 85 percent of all COE revenues, while residual Windows 9x sales will account for much of the remainder, leaving little room for competitive products.
IDC believes that Linux will continue to make inroads in the market, but not enough to significantly alter the market segmentation. COE revenues generated from Linux and other open source operating environments will increase from $36.9 million in 1999 to $93.3 million in 2004.
The Macintosh operating system, Mac OS, is also on the rebound, according to IDC's report, with a 27 percent jump in shipments during 1999.
The IDC report, Client Operating Environments Market Forecast and Analysis, compares 1998 and 1999 PC/client operating environment shipment share by platform and forecasts revenues and new license shipments through 2004. It looks at Microsoft Windows, Apple Macintosh, and Linux shipments by region. - Isaac Slepner
About the Author
Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.