OSDL Sees Linux Rising In Retail

Linux retail deployments increased 34 percent in 2004 over the previous year, OSDL said, citing reports from major IT vendors.

At the same time, Linux&' rising popularity along with new entrants into the market had contributed to the drop in price of point of sale systems from $4,000 in 2002 to under $1,000 in 2004, OSDL said.

OSDL said the report was based partly on data gleaned from data from IT vendors including BakBone Software, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Novell and Red Hat.

"We are seeing significant Linux adoption in the retail sector as companies look for flexibility, reliability and low cost as their legacy IT systems near end of life," said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL, in a statement. "The increasing availability of Linux-based solutions from both major vendors and ISVs is accelerating the trend. In retail, it's all about lowering costs, streamlining supply chains, and improving margins."