Linux fans welcome forecast

This news is enough to get anyone’s attention! According to a recent study, Linux is in a position to pull in a chunky $35.7 billion by 2008! Now those are very soft numbers right now, but keep in mind that we could see those revenue figures become a reality very easily.

It’s the continued proliferation of Linux, the free open-source operating system that’s becoming a ready alternative to Microsoft Windows and other mainstream systems. And, armed with a new study suggesting robust growth for Linux, the Beaverton-based Open Source Development Labs Inc. is leading the Linux charge.
“We are the center of gravity for Linux,” said Stuart Cohen, the lab’s chief executive officer. “You can make the argument that there’s more leadership around Linux here in Portland than anywhere else in the world.”
Founded in 2000, the nonprofit lab is dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux. It’s home to Linux creator — and now Portland resident — Linus Torvalds, and counts technology giants Intel Corp. and IBM Corp. among its 70 members. The media-shy Torvalds did not respond to several requests for an interview.
Of its 40 local employees, roughly half are engineers who write code and do testing for Linux; others assist with any business, technical, legal or market issues that may arise in the areas of data center, carrier grade and desktop Linux.
The open-source lab and Linux fans everywhere last week welcomed the results of a study by the Framingham, Mass.-based research firm IDC that suggested Linux is no longer a niche phenomenon. By 2008, the study found, overall Linux marketplace revenues for hardware and software that run on Linux could reach $35.7 billion, up from about $12 billion in 2003. Microsoft’s total revenues in 2003 were $32.2 billion.