The European Commission has fined Microsoft a record €497m (£280m) for its anti-competitive behaviour in Europe.

But the software giant's monopoly is under a potentially far more serious attack, and one that will have a huge impact on the IT skills market.

After a long period as an area of specialist interest, Linux and open source have finally achieved a commercial presence, and the tipping point is now in sight.

An alternative to Microsoft means contractors and employees face a new set of issues. The most obvious opportunity is a wider pool of potential roles using open source technologies, providing another avenue of employment for IT professionals.

There may also be a period in which open source skills and expertise are particularly lucrative, due to a smaller talent pool of open source developers and programmers.

Obviously, the open source skills market will need to become more dynamic, and those who develop the skills will need to keep them up to date.

Keeping fresh may prove quite a task as various open source variants develop across the globe. And there is certainly scope for some interesting new ways of working.

Beyond such early potential benefits, it's difficult to speculate exactly how open source will affect the IT workforce.

However, it is clear that open source skills are set for growth and will most likely offer competitive rates.

It is also interesting to note the scale and reputation of blue chip companies now investigating open source. Many of these businesses have conducted pilots, and others have already taken the plunge.

Public sector adoption of open source is also under examination, and there are signs the government will look favourably upon it. This all means open source need not act as a barrier to working for certain companies, or indeed, a certain type of company.

A recent report by Forrester Research also stated that technological barriers to Linux adoption will fall away and commercial support from big suppliers will increase. Adoption will escalate the open source workload and create a growing need for specialist skills.

The same report also suggested that Linux demands strong management skills to control distribution, configuration and migration projects.

The main drivers for development in open source have not always been financial. Development is often associated with prestige and peer approval.

And although intrinsically competitive, the open source community has traditionally been very cooperative. Importing this into existing businesses and teams is likely to prove challenging.

What's more, the self-sustaining development cycles of open source may also jar with management. So, the legacy of open source development may mean companies have to approach open source personnel differently.

Because of potential clashes, the short-term use of contractors may give companies some elbow room when developing their open source departments.

It is in the interests of both the contractors and their client companies to establish best practice change management for the transition to open source.

The importance of this transition period cannot be underestimated. Issues of business adoption and resultant working patterns will become key to the profile of open source in the IT workplace.

Richard Herring is operations director of Reed Technology.