Linux set to dominate industry, says Corel chief

Linux will be the most exciting growth platform over the next ten years, according to Dr Mike Cowpland, president and CEO of Corel.

In an exclusive video interview with Silicon.com, Cowpland said he believes the open source operating system (OS) will experience the biggest OS growth since Windows, and said that his company is now in the perfect position to exploit this.

This week, Corel teamed up with Inprise, the software and services company, to accelerate commercial mainstreaming of Linux technology by forming a joint R&D alliance.

Sharing his thoughts in a recent visit to the UK, Dr Cowpland explained what he thinks Linux can offer the IT industry. "Windows is totally owned by one US company, therefore the amount of innovation you can do is limited. On the other hand, Linux enables everybody to get access to code totally, so it's a golden opportunity for entrepreneurs to get going in the UK".

Cowpland outlined two areas where he expects Linux to have a huge impression: "Number one is the server where its tremendous reliability has gained it its big foothold to date.

"The other area we see is the mass desktop user because if you're looking at the 50 per cent of users who don't have computers yet, they'll need computers in the $200 to $300 range and can't afford the $60 to $70 Windows cost. This is where Linux is a natural choice, where we can make it fully compatible and easy to transfer from Windows but at the same time not have that Windows task."