Thursday, 9 August 2007

Survey Says Apache Losing To Microsoft ISS

According to a new survey, Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS) is catching up with the open-source Apache web server in terms of popularity. The survey said Mircosoft could upstage Apache as early as next year.

Data Research firm Netcraft said Microsoft added 2.6 million web sites in the last month and commands 36.2 per cent of all active web sites. The survey also said Apache lost nearly a million web site names, as its share of active web sites fell to 48.4 per cent.

"If Microsoft continues to gain share at its current pace, it could close the gap on Apache sometime in 2008," said the Netcraft survey.

Since its inauguration in 1995, Netcraft has consistently ranked Apache at the top, however since two years, Apache has been losing ground. In November 2005, Apache was running 71 per cent of all web sites and Microsoft ISS was having just 20.2 per cent share. Oracle executive Larry Ellison once also commented that that IIS had been "wiped off the face of the earth" by Apache.