At 35%, International Data Corp says Spain has the fastest growing Unix market in the world, though growth will dip to 28% next year, it says. Spain, via the efforts of its government, is noted as an eager adopter of open systems technologies. However it, like others, is suffering in the current recessionary climate. Although the Spanish government is the largest open systems user in the country, with two thirds of its computer systems now running under Unix, economic pressure has forced it to suspend all future internal developments and abandon its tax incentive schemes for firms migrating to Unix. Despite its apparent commitment to open systems, the country lacks a Unix infrastructure in the commercial sector and there is a shortage of basic training and technical support. Systems integrators and resellers are thin on the ground, and there is little home-grown technology. Large firms such as IBM Corp and Fujitsu Ltd have been fairly successful in selling to the government, but the overall Unix hardware market is a tiny $28.5m, while software is worth some $9.5m.
