Perception of Linux as Most Secure OS Rises 21%, XP Plummets by 43%

SANTA CRUZ, CA, October 14, 2003 - Evans Data Corporation’s Fall 2003 North American Development Survey has found that Linux has increased its lead in developers’ minds as the “most innately secure operating system” from 19% six months ago to 23% today. At the same time, the percentage of developers who said that Windows XP is the most secure dropped by more than 40%, from 14% six months ago to 8% today.

“It’s not all that surprising that Linux is viewed as more secure by software developers. Windows has had nearly weekly critical security updates from Microsoft, and three of four developers target Windows,” said Esther Schindler, Evans’ senior analyst. “Development experience talks, a higher percentage of Windows developers said Linux is more ‘innately secure’ than did Linux developers.”

Other findings from the survey of more than 500 developers in North America include:

• Open source has become more socially acceptable over time. Back in Spring 2001, only 38% of developers used any open source software modules. Today, 62% of developers are incorporating open source code in their applications – a growth rate of 63%.
• The three most expected features for Java development tools are Web services support, profilers and optimization tools, and J2EE frameworks.
• Confidence in Linux has risen by almost 90% since 1999. In Evans’ Fall 1999 North American Development Survey, only 34% of developers felt the OS was ready for mission critical applications, compared to 64% expressing such confidence today.

Evans Data Corporation provides regularly updated IT industry market intelligence based on in-depth surveys of the global developer population. Evans' syndicated research includes surveys focused on developers in a wide variety of subjects.

Copyright 2007 Evans Data Corporation. All other company names, products and services mentioned in this document are the trademarks and property of their respective owners.

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