FRAMINGHAM, MA -- Linux is making major inroads as a platform for the future, and is well positioned to continue to gain market share at the expense of other platforms. Results from a soon-to-be-published IDC survey of more than 800 North America and Western Europe server platform decision makers indicate that end customer spending on Linux-related hardware, software, services, and staffing will grow to 9% of the IT budget in 2002, up from only 3% in 1999. "Although Linux is not yet widely deployed in production environments, we are seeing signs of significant adoption," says Scott McLarnon, study director and group vice president at IDC. "The willingness of an increasing number of decision-makers to look closely at Linux bodes well for its future and suggests increasing challenges for competitive platforms. Many of the hurdles to Linux adoption are being addressed by platform vendors, and we expect that competition among operating systems as well as among Linux vendors will increase dramatically. Only a few vendors have significant mindshare in the Linux market, indicating major untapped opportunities for hardware and software vendors alike. However, Linux marketplace success is not assured. Challenges remain to be addressed, notably broader availability of software, skills and trained staff for deploying and managing Linux environments." Key findings include the following: -- Linux buyers are becoming more mainstream within the corporation -- Nearly 40% of respondents are actively using or piloting Linux -- In terms of unit replenishment, Linux is growing twice as fast as Unix Linux advantages (performance, scalability, value) are gaining in prominence IDC will be presenting the results of this comprehensive Linux survey in a series of five web conferences in August and September. In conjunction with the web conferences IDC will be releasing three reports: Overview of Linux Market Trends and Buyer Perceptions, Linux Operating Environment Hardware Trends, and Linux Operating Environment Software Trends. For further information visit www.idc.com