Linux Operating System Market Expected to Reach $24.3 Billion by 2032—Allied Market Research

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, “Linux Operating System Market by Application (Virtual Machines, Servers, and Desktops), and End User (Commercial and Individual): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2023–2032". was valued at $7.8 billion in 2022, and is estimated to reach $24.3 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 12.3% from 2023 to 2032.

Linux is a free, open-source operating system, released under the GNU General Public License (GPL). Anyone can run, study, modify, and redistribute the source code, or even sell copies of their modified code, as long as they do so under the same license. Linux has become the largest open-source software project in the world. Professional and hobbyist programmers and developers from around the world contribute to the Linux kernel, adding features, finding, and fixing bugs and security flaws, live patching, and providing new ideas—all while sharing their contributions back to the community.

Linux is playing a vital role in the Internet of Things (IoT) and embedded systems. Its lightweight nature, customization options, and open-source ecosystem make it ideal for IoT devices, ensuring its relevance in emerging technologies. Furthermore, major Linux operating system industry players have undertaken various strategies to increase the competition and offer enhanced services to their customers. For instance, in October 2023, MontaVista Software, LLC, a leader in commercial Embedded Linux products and services, took taken strategic initiative to embed secure platform principles throughout MontaVista’s product lineup to meet the ever-increasing cyber security needs of industrial IoT, robotics, medical, and smart infrastructure applications. In February 2021, SUSE and SAP strengthened their strategic partnership, reinforcing customer confidence to deploy SAP solutions faster and to deploy SAP solutions faster and more efficiently.With more businesses embracing these technologies, the demand for Linux-based solutions is poised to grow, creating vast market opportunities for Linux operating system industry distributions and service providers. Overall, Linux solutions offer a robust operating system foundation for these transformative technologies and are creating growth in the linux operating system market forecast.

By application, the servers segment held the highest market share in 2022, the scalability of Linux-based servers aligns with the increasing demand for cloud computing and data center solutions. Trends in the server segment include the adoption of Linux in the microservices architecture. This architecture leverages containerization and orchestration technologies, where Linux plays a pivotal role. On the other hand, desktops are expected to grow as the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period, owing to the rising concerns over data breaches and privacy violations, more users are turning to Linux as a more secure option. Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu and Fedora, provide regular updates and patches, enhancing desktop security.

By region, the global Linux operating system market share was dominated by North America in 2022 and is expected to maintain this trend during the forecast period, owing to the rise of open-source software development fostering Linux's growth. Many organizations in North America are embracing open-source principles, contributing to Linux's development and customization. On the other hand, the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow as the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period. This is driven by the increasing adoption of Linux in both consumer and enterprise environments. Many governments and organizations across the region are recognizing the cost-efficiency, security, and customization options Linux offers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a mixed economic impact on the Linux operating system market. On one hand, the pandemic accelerated the adoption of Linux in various sectors. With the sudden shift to remote work and increased demand for cloud computing and server infrastructure, Linux gained prominence due to its open-source nature, cost-effectiveness, and reliability. Many businesses turned to Linux to cut expenses and ensure stable IT operations during uncertain times. On the contrary, the pandemic also disrupted the supply chain for hardware components, affecting Linux-based device manufacturers. This led to production delays and increased costs, impacting the Linux ecosystem. In addition, the economic uncertainty caused some businesses to cut IT budgets, affecting Linux adoption in certain sectors.

Key Findings of the Study

• By application, the servers segment led the Linux operating system market size in terms of revenue in 2022.
• By end-user, the commercial segment accounted for the highest Linux operating system market analysis in 2022.
• By region, North America generated the highest revenue in 2022.