If you missed the first part, here is a quick summary. Otherwise, just skip this part.

In this series of articles, I discuss broad groups of computer users, the ties they have to existing platforms, and the potential attractions of Linux to them. In the previous part, I covered two types of home users (see the first part) and argued that neither type cares much about the advantages and disadvantages of operating systems and, therefore, these users are not a promising market for Linux.

In this part I will cover small and large businesses as well as creative professionals.

Large Businesses

Example: Big corporations with thousands of employees and a large Windows-tied technology system.

Although getting large businesses to use Linux would make thousands and thousands of people familiar with Linux, most large businesses already have a huge investment in the Windows world in terms of both hardware and software, so it may be almost impossible to convince big businesses to switch to Linux, except for a few specialized applications such as servers.

Small Businesses

Example: Startup/less than 100 employee companies that have a lot less investment in technology and care about saving money on technology

Small businesses may be one of the best markets to push Linux to. Smaller businesses are often very cost sensitive and don’t necessarily have a large existing investment in the Windows world, so they may be easy to convince that Linux is the best choice for them. In addition, if small businesses adopt Linux, more and more home users will start to become familiar with Linux.

Creative Professional

Example: People who work with audio, video, and graphics in smaller businesses

Many creative professionals are currently tied to the Mac and Adobe applications, but very few are tied to a large business system. In addition, they often use expensive hardware and expensive hardware means big profits for the sellers. Previously, this money has been going to Apple, but if creative professionals began to move to Linux, many hardware vendors would be more interested in selling Linux on their machines. All Linux would need to pull creative professionals to Linux is to create some good applications, either open-source or closed-source, to compete with the Adobe applications. This may be another group that Linux should focus on.