It is very hard to estimate.

There are probably more accurate figures for web servers, since there
are crawlers going round counting gathering stats.

The percentage of desktops is likely to be quite small.

In making a business case, though, here are some points to perhaps
put forward:

- a business shouldn't make development decisions solely based on current
numbers, but should look at trends. Development is a bit of a gamble
on what the future holds.

- popularity or numbers of 'seats' is not a guide to profitability or
margin on software sold. Oracle doesn't sell on many desktops, and yet
they do more than handsomely.

- the future of computing may move in directions that require a rethink
of business / software processes. For example (not that I'm advocating
this) many believe that web based software is the way to go, or
that network terminals (thin clients) will be extermely important.

Payroll and accounting are areas where a central server, backed
by a bureau system, may be born again.

Many businesses don't have the expertise to implement this
properly, and would welcome a service based system.

My 2c.

Jamie

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