Al Gillen, Research VP, System Software, IDC

Al Gillen is a research vice president in IDC's worldwide system software research practice. His primary area of coverage is tracking client and server operating systems, with a particular focus on Linux, Windows and Unix.

Mr. Gillen has been involved in IT for 25 years, including 10 years as a software developer and 8 years running trade publications focused on Windows and IBM's System i platform. Since joining IDC in 1999, he has helped run a variety of research projects ranging from studying Linux adoption, migration from Unix and Windows to Linux, total cost of ownership for Linux, Windows and Unix systems, as well as assisting in IDC's recurring demand-side research covering the growth and evolution of the Linux market. In addition, he has tracked the changing licensing programs used by Microsoft and by the major Linux vendors.

Mr. Gillen is a frequent speaker at trade shows, industry events and at customer-focused events.