--- title: 'Ubuntu: Web OS of the year…. ….for the 3rd year in a row' description: It is with great pride that we saw Ubuntu winning W3tech’s Operating System of the year award. For those of us that work on Ubuntu, increased adoption is one of the most satisfying results of our work and is the best measure of the if we are doing the right thing or not. What is […] url: https://canonical.com/blog/ubuntu-web-os-of-the-year-for-the-3rd-year-in-a-row?format=md --- 1. [Blog](https://canonical.com/blog) 2. Article --- [Mark Baker](https://canonical.com/blog/author/markbaker "More about Mark Baker") 9 January 2014 # Ubuntu: Web OS of the year…. ….for the 3rd year in a row --- Share the article It is with great pride that we saw Ubuntu winning W3tech’s Operating System of the year award. For those of us that work on Ubuntu, increased adoption is one of the most satisfying results of our work and is the best measure of the if we are doing the right thing or not. What is most significant about this though, as is highlighted above, this is the third year running that Ubuntu has won the award. The reasoning is fairly simple: the growth of Ubuntu as a platform for online infrastructure has far outstripped that of other operating systems. In fact, over the last three years only two Linux operating systems showed any growth at all – Debian and Ubuntu, although Gentoo had some traction in 2013. Ubuntu overtaking CentOS was the most significant change in 2013 and our popularity continues to grow whilst many other decline. Many of the notable web properties of 2013 are confirmed Ubuntu users: Snapchat, Uber, Instagram, Buzzfeed, Hailo, Netflix etc…Developers at fast thinking, innovative companies love Ubuntu for its flexibility and the ability to get the latest frameworks up and running quickly and easily on cloud on or bare metal. As observers of the industry will know, tech used in Silicon Valley startups quickly filters through to more traditional Enterprises. With the launch of Ubuntu 14.04 LTS in April, Ubuntu is set for continued greatness this year as more and more businesses seek the agility and innovation shown by many of the hot tech properties. It will be fun trying to make it happen too. Read about the w3tech awards at: Images courtesy of w3techs.com [Get in touch Interested in running Ubuntu in your organization?](https://ubuntu.com/about/contact-us/form) ## Sign up for our newsletter Get the latest Canonical news and updates in your inbox. Work email: \*I agree to receive information about Canonical's products and services. By submitting this form, I confirm that I have read and agree to [Canonical's Privacy Policy](https://canonical.com/legal/dataprivacy). Sign up ## Share on --- ## Related posts [### Canonical joins the Open Secure AI Alliance](https://canonical.com/blog/open-secure-ai-alliance) Canonical is now part of the Open Secure AI Alliance, announced by NVIDIA with partners across cloud computing, cybersecurity, enterprise software, open source foundations, and... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 28 August 2026 [### Arduino® VENTUNO™ Q is available for pre-order with Ubuntu pre-installed](https://canonical.com/blog/arduino-ventuno-q-is-available-for-pre-order-with-ubuntu-pre-installed) London, UK – August 25, 2026 – Following our initial collaboration announcement in March 2026, Canonical and Arduino (a subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.) are excited... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 25 August 2026 [### Advantech AOM-2721 is now Ubuntu Certified](https://canonical.com/blog/advantech-aom-2721-ubuntu-certified) Canonical announces that the Advantech AOM-2721 is officially joining the list of Ubuntu Certified Hardware. [Mikhail Khazov](https://canonical.com/blog/author/khazov-m) 13 August 2026 [### Canonical integrates NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning with Ubuntu for always-on AI agents](https://canonical.com/blog/nvidia-nemotron-3-5-lightning) Canonical is pleased to announce that NVIDIA’s newly introduced NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning, an open, customizable model built for always-on AI agents, is now available on... [Canonical](https://canonical.com/blog/author/canonical) 11 August 2026