The Desktop Isn't the Holy Grail for Linux, But It's Growing There

by Sam Dean - Jan. 06, 2012Comments (0)

There is no doubt that Linux is seeing healthy adoption at the server level, and arriving in many variants and embedded applications, but it's worth noting that it is seeing growth at the desktop level as well. Netmarketshare has published its latest round of statistics on desktop Linux usage, with data updated through December of 2011. While Linux has desktop market share of under two percent, its share did grow at a very healthy clip last year.

Here is a snapshot of the desktop Linux usage data from Netmarketshare, for 2011:

Feb. 2011 - 0.96%
Jun. 2011 - 1.0%
Sep. 2011 - 1.11%
Dec. 2011 - 1.41%

Netmarketshare's data is global. It analyzes operating system share from more than 160 million unique visits to web sites around the world. Clearly, Linux usage at the desktop level is picking up.

That's not to say that the desktop is the holy grail for Linux, though. At the server level, Linux is shooting the lights out. According to a statement from Gartner from late last year:

"In the server OS market, Linux (server) was the fastest-growing subsegment in 2010 as end users adopted more open-standard systems. Within the Unix OS market, IBM AIX had high single-digit growth, but Unix generally experienced modest or negative growth," said Alan Dayley, managing vice president at Gartner. "The EOL threat for Unix OSs such as Tru64 and NetWare pushed the 'other proprietary Unix' subsegment down 39.6 percent in 2010 as some vendors retired their proprietary Unix and moved users to more open systems."

Gartner also reports that Windows still has a whopping 78.6 market share in the overall OS market. Still, the operating system market is large, and Linux desktop usage grew steadily last year. With many very capable and flexible Linux distros available, expect growth throughout 2012 as well.