LINUX CORNERED 25 percent of the server operating system market last year, according to preliminary data from International Data Corp. (IDC). But in terms of revenue share, Linux remains a tiny fraction of the market.

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Microsoft's Windows NT system held steady at 38 percent of the server operating system market last year, while Novell finished at 19 percent. Meanwhile, all of the combined versions of Unix garnered 15 percent of the market.

But IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky warned against reading too much into these numbers. All server operating systems, especially NT, are continuing to experience very strong growth, but the unusual Linux growth numbers are obscuring that fact.

Another trend is that Unix users, in particular, are buying fewer but more powerful servers, Kusnetzky said, thus generating healthy revenue in that space.

"We are trying to measure Linux with the same techniques we use for other products, but that's increasingly difficult," Kusnetzky said.

For example, users can buy a single copy of Linux and install it multiple times. Still, because of the low cost of installing Linux systems, some users often buy several different Linux distributions to try out but end up using only one.

In addition, Linux users sometimes buy the server product but use it as a workstation.

Nevertheless, the total revenue stream for Linux-based systems remains tiny compared with other server operating systems. IDC estimates worldwide Linux revenue, covering all clients and servers combined, at a mere $63 million for 1999.

Looking forward, IDC still expects that Windows 2000, not Linux, will be the dominant server operating system by 2003. On the desktop, the Windows 9x line and Windows NT/2000 are expected to seize a combined 88 percent of the market in 2003, roughly the same as today.

Kusnetzky said he does expect Linux to score well with non-PC devices such as network appliances and wireless systems.

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