One of the drivers for NT Server growth in corporate departments has been strong buy-in from business-unit managers who perceive NT Server as a platform of choice for packaged applications and databases. NT Server supports many kinds of functional server software - application servers, database servers, Web servers, and collaborative computing services. There are more third party software which run on NT Platform if compared to other platforms. Microsoft itself has been quite successful in making sure this is the platform of choice for all size of businesses, now and in the future.
Novell Netware
Competing head-on with Microsoft Windows NT Server in corporate departments, Novell has been trying very hard to keep its current NetWare 3.X and NetWare 4.X users happy. With a large installed based, some companies are still comfortable to keep and even upgrade their Netware systems to support the existing business applications. From Novell point of view, NetWare will continue to add value to those networks by providing advanced functionality and efficient system management software that reduces administrative costs and delivers the required network services.
Linux
Linux is a free, Unix-like Operating System that is developed by a loosely knit team of talented programmers working from all over the world. Linux works on almost every kind of computer in existance, and provides a robust platform for a wide variety of applications.
Unlike most Operating Systems, Linux is free in almost all respects. One can download it off the internet at no charge, pass on copies to friends, and even modify its internals. This “freeness” has been one of the most critical reasons for its success, and is turning heads in the industry and mainstream media.
It is a fully featured multi-user multi-tasking OS that runs extremely robustly on a wide variety of hardware. Linux can be found not only on Intel Computers (on which it originally ran), but also on Macintoshes and Alphas. Linux is at home with TCP/IP, Novell Netware, AppleTalk and is even comfortable with Microsoft Networking and some of the more obscure protocols.