Our sister publication, Unigram/X is in the final throes of producing its report Unix in the UK, due for delivery in time for the Unix User Show in May. The report is intended to give Unix watchers a clear idea of the current state of the market in the UK: which machines are being used; which Unix versions; the most popular software applications; how much people are spending on Unix-based systems and how much they intend to in the future; staffing and training levels and effectiveness; and how good the support is from the various manufacturers. Although analysis of the information is not yet complete the report shows that the majority of users rate the contribution of Unix to their company very highly. About a third of the Unix community interviewed said that they would be buying additional hardware within the next 12 months and that most expenditure was on hardware and peripherals rather than software. Some suppliers scored well in support levels but there are some notable exceptions.
