Linux cheaper than Windows by 40 percent
Debate continues over whether Linux or Windows is cheaper to deploy and manage according to an IBM-sponsored report. Linux is significantly less expensive than Windows and Unix and that Linux usage brings with it a number of secondary benefits that add intangibles to the cost argument.
The report found Linux was 40 per cent cheaper overall than Windows, and 56 per cent cheaper than Unix based Solaris. This report comes after two years of Microsoft-sponsored research heralding the benefits of Windows over Linux, although IBM denied it is a direct response.
The report compared Linux and Windows x86 servers and Solaris Sparc servers over three years. It found that while Linux cost only $40,149, Windows cost $67,559, and Solaris cost $86,478 (£22,450, £37,776 and £48,355 respectively).
The disparity in costs is due to Linux’s lack of licensing fees. But according to the report, other cost-of-ownership factors that weigh in favor of Linux include the crossover nature of Unix and Linux skills, as well as lower ongoing support and management costs and improvements in how customers manage their Linux systems. But Linux’s licensing-cost edge is likely to wane as Microsoft and some Unix vendors, notably Sun Microsystems, lower their prices.
Another factor that will close the cost gap in time is the way Linux users are now treating the platform as they would a commercial product, purchasing the same support offerings, management tools, and other facilities that they would on any other platform.
The Factors that were taken into consideration while calculating the figures included not only “raw cost” but also administrator skill-set transferability, hardware architecture portability and vendor diversity.
The research found out that there are other benefits of deploying Linux apart from total cost of ownership reduction. These include its flexible licensing model, wide range of supported hardware platforms, the choice of support providers, and fast administrator skill-set transfer from other Unix platforms.
So less expensive systems could support the same workload as the study suggest. A significant finding affecting operating costs was that Linux administrators could often manage more systems than Windows administrators in a given amount of time, meaning lower management costs and reducing complexity.