Event
Summary
10/26/99 -
Red Hat said on Tuesday that Intel plans to make Red Hat Linux software available
on powerful server computers designed to run websites.
Red Hat said
Intel plans to bundle the Red Hat Linux operating system on servers Intel is
supplying to ISPs1 . Intel has launched a program aimed at boosting
its share of the server market, which has been dominated by Sun Microsystems,
whose computers use Sun's own chips instead of Intel's.
Market
Impact
Although 90%
of Linux installations are on Intel systems, Intel's decision gives more legitimacy
to the efforts to increase Linux's market and mind share. This announcement
will help increase Intel's presence in the ISP market, but we believe the greater
impact will be on the Linux and OS markets. Combined with the recent support
of Dell, Compaq, and Gateway, this will increase Linux market growth. Growth
will be primarily at the expense of Sun, because of its current dominance of
the ISP market.
The combination
of this event and Intel's enabling of Gigabit Ethernet performance on Linux
(by virtue of the drivers for their PRO/1000 Gigabit Server Adapter) indicates
that Intel is committed to Linux for the near term.
We do not expect
this to cause market consolidation in the short term (12 months), but rather
a leveling among market share figures between Solaris/Unix/Linux. Linux will
not overtake Solaris, just get closer.
User
Recommendations
This announcement
is of interest primarily to ISPs, and possibly ASPs2 (who operate
in a similar environment to ISPs) - mainstream users will not be affected, except
as a result of their ISPs switching over to "Lintel". For those presently-not-Sun
ISPs facing purchasing decisions, this provides another alternative from which
they can pick. For users considering Linux seriously, but concerned about major-company
support, this announcement should provide some reassurance.
1ISPs:
Internet Service Providers
2ASPs: Application Service Providers