Linked by Eugenia Loli-Queru on Fri 1st Oct 2004 00:16 UTC
A senior IT executive at a major pharmaceutical company summed up the challenge for Linux at the ZDNet UK IT Priorities conference when he asked one simple question: what are the benefits in migrating from Microsoft to Linux at the desktop?
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this article really nails a lot of great linux benefits:
1) great multiuser support. 1 linux box can easily handle several simultaneous users (i read an article earlier this week about a setup that included 10 monitors/keybords/mice connected a single box (not thin clients) where all could work simultaneously, unfortunately i can't find the article)
2) application selection. don't want a web browser or media player installed? you don't need to install 'em. how many mall kiosk workers, airline agents, or cab drivers need a web browser or a media player on their computer? probably close to none. since windows lite won't be available in the US, companies will be stuck offering these productivity vacuums to their employees as long as they are embedded in windows. there is nothing remotely like this in linux. don't want a web browser or media player? don't install one.
3) price - windows server enterprise is $4000, plus around $40 for each client. for that guys company with 20,000 employees, that would be well over $800,000 in windows licenses (there's got a be a cheaper site license, right??) cost of enterprise linux, plus unlimited clients: 0. if windows licenses do cost around $800,000 (which i'm skeptical about my math), you could hire 16 new admins with the money you just saved, though you wouldn't need them because linux administration is a breeze.
4) administration - for the most part, linux administration comes down to editing text files. if your admin can't edit text files and read man pages and other documentation, i wouldn't want him working on any servers, let alone servers that try to force your hand with GUI tools or make you edit a cryptic registry file. any admin (windows, linux, unix, or otherwise) worth his salt should be able to admin a linux box in under a month.
so not only is your hardware supporting more users, but you've removed possible distractions from your employees while saving money and helping your admins learn something. everybody wins!