To read this article in its entirety, please visit eWeek: Microsoft's Windows Server Will Benefit From x86 Adoption

Microsoft is positioned for strong growth in coming quarters, at least with regard to its Windows Server franchise, thanks to a combination of strengthening economy and industry-wide gravitation towards servers running on x86 multicore processors.

At least, that’s the assertion of Joe Clabby, president of Clabby Analytics, who wrote in a July 20 research note that both Linux and Windows could benefit from an industry trend towards x86 multicore chips—a trend he says is much in evidence, based on a recent survey by analytics firm Tech Target.

That survey suggested that, along with the expansion in enterprise IT budgets and increased demand for capacity, the market for server platforms has increased.

"Windows growth as a server platform is exploding," Clabby wrote. "While Linux is second largest, its growth is flat over last year. Windows Server deployment is huge, [Red Hat Enterprise Linux] is holding steady with 40 [percent] adoption, Novell SUSE tanked, and Oracle’s Linux offering gained ground."

Meanwhile, Clabby added, sales of HP’s Itanium offerings have declined sharply, while reports abound of companies such as IBM gaining share in x86 systems in the first quarter of 2010.