Event
Summary
October 20th, 1999 - Business software solutions provider Mainsoft Corp. will
be offering its MainWin product, a Windows platform developed for UNIX, to the
realm of the Linux open-source operating system.
The
move will, according to Mainsoft, accelerate the growth of Linux in the enterprise
by expanding the development rate of business-critical applications available
for the open-source environment. MainWin for Linux, expected to be offered in
a commercial version toward the end of the first quarter of 2000, will allow
users to re-host Windows NT applications on Linux. This product is aimed primarily
at Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), rather than at end users.
Market
Impact
This announcement helps eliminate one of the bigger barriers to Linux acceptance
- lack of software applications. If MainWin makes Linux hosting of Windows NT-based
applications (currently estimated at approximately 100,000) as easy/transparent
as they claim, this will increase Linux's market share growth even faster than
the current trend. If this is the case, we estimate that within two years, Linux
could be in as much as 25% of organizations, up from the current 13% [Source:
IDC]. We do not believe this will change the growth rate for the overall marketplace,
though it will slow the current movement toward consolidation around the Windows
NT platform.
Of
some concern is MainWin's current price tag of $25,000 for the development kit
- the relatively high price will be an impediment to those smaller shops considering
using the product. Mainsoft will need to provide cost/benefit analyses to those
customers who would be "on the fence". (We are assuming the Linux version will
cost approximately the same as the Unix version.)
User
Recommendations
This announcement means the user has more flexibility, and pay less penalty
to choose Linux. In addition, the ability to run Windows NT applications helps
dispel one more of Microsoft's infamous "Linux myths". Although this announcement
will not serve as sole justification to run Linux, it may help tip the scales
in Linux's favor in any given situation. Clients with mixed NT and Linux environments
will derive significantly more benefit than those customers trying to choose
between operating systems.