By Irwin Lazar, Principal Research Analyst May 10, 2007

This week Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) announced that it was joining the Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) / Novell (NASDAQ:NOVL) SUSE Linux alliance. Dell will purchase SUSE Linux Enterprise Server licenses from Microsoft, and provide enterprise support for customers choosing the SUSE Linux platform. This move underscores the growing importance of Linux in the enterprise server operating system market, and gives enterprises another choice when evaluating Linux distributions, as well as service and support options.

This growing interest in Linux is driven by two factors, the dominance of x86 (Intel and compatible) servers in the enterprise data center, and enterprise desire for alternatives to Windows. Seventy-five percent of enterprises interviewed for the Nemertes’ “New Data Center” benchmark had deployed commodity x86 servers, while only 7% of servers ran Linux, creating a tremendous opportunity for expansion of Linux as an alternative to Windows server operating systems, as well as a growing need for Windows and Linux interoperability.

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