That's the assessment of a recent survey of the HP, IBM, and Oracle Unix customer bases by Gabriel Consulting Group, which has just finished up its fifth annual slicing and dicing of Unix customer sentiments.
Unix systems have successfully colonized their neighborhoods in the data centers of the world, and are resisting the onslaught of Windows and Linux on those systems' relatively inexpensive x64 iron. The Unix colonists are also resisting all of the marketing muscle and money that is dedicated to evicting them.
The GCG survey, which ran in late 2010 and early 2011, solicited input from places where Unix techies like to hang out; 306 shops responded to the full survey and the results were normalized for the HP, IBM, and Oracle installed bases.
If you are a Unix expert, the recession was probably a bit unnerving, as CFOs and CIOs ran around with machetes trying to cut costs anywhere they could, with Unix systems being a target in the same way that proprietary mini and mainframe systems once were – and continue to be.
According to the Unix shops polled by GCG, Unix usage was indeed on the wane in 2007, as the recession in the United States was building up a good head of steam. As you can see from the chart below, some shops slammed on the brakes while others kept on increasing.
By 2008 and 2009, GCG's data from surveys of Unix customers showed the declines slowing, but the share of customers who were boosting their budgets also slowed. Now, in the 2010-2011 survey, 45 per cent of Unix shops say they are increasing their spending, and a third say they are holding steady...."
Continued: http://goo.gl/rbIlh
