Open-source software at present has a large market share in server software for Internet infrastructure. This market share means that there are many suppliers of consultancy services and instruction in open-source software in this area. Accordingly, there is some specific software based on open-source software. There are, for example, some e-commerce systems that use Apache as the server software.

On the client side, open-source software is measured in fractions of a percent.
If we suppose that Linux and StarOffice/OpenOffice on the client side gained a large market share, the economic conditions would change in a number of areas.
With the present market situation for PCs, having Linux installed on newly purchased PCs entails an extra cost, whether it is the supplier or oneself who does it. Large-scale operation makes it a cost for the suppliers to supply without Windows, but if the market share for Windows on PCs falls over the next few years, the suppliers will be able to supply PCs with open-source software operating systems pre-installed or more cheaply without operating systems. The very low coverage for open-source software on clients also means that a market is not built up for consultancy assistance and advice on the implementation and operation of larger installations. For the time being, this knowledge