Jack Knight wrote:
> Hi all.
>
> I'm looking at writing an article on the current business benefits of
> migrating to Linux on the desktop as opposed to Vista. Given the
> latter's sluggish take-up by many corporates, some see this as a sign of
> the advent of desktop Linux becoming mainstream. However, since many of
> you work in the industry I'd like to canvass opinion on the subject
> before committing my hopelessly bHi all.
>
> I've been asked to write an article on the business benefits of
> migrating to Linux on the desktop as opposed to Vista. Given the
> latter's sluggish take-up by many corporates, some see this as a sign of
> the advent of desktop Linux becoming mainstream. However, since many of
> you work in the industry I'd like to canvass opinion on the subject
> before committing my hopelessly biased opinions to print ;^)=
>
> Seriously though, I'd like to hear from anyone with a view and/or hard
> data.
>
> So, with this in mind, can anyone let me have info on the following:
>
> 1) Has the amount of Linux business deployments changed since Vista came
> out?
> 2) Do you have clients who are migrating from XP to Linux, if so what
> are the main reasons?
> 3) Have any of your clients tried Vista out and not liked it?
>
> On a similar note, does anyone know what sort of volume of preinstalled
> Linux machines are being sold by the likes of Dell, Lenovo, Tesco etc.?
>
When considering the use of Linux as a desktop environment there are
always a number of variables which will effect the outcome. In my
experience these factors are high on the list and I've added some at a
theoretical level to boost the thread.
1) Has the organisation used Linux in their server room? If so there is
more leverage and less FUD.
2) Desktop applications, like MS Office, can stop Linux desktop adoption
dead in it's tracks and does. The cost of re-training staff to use other
office suites must be met and convincingly offset.
3) Vista is still 'good' in they eyes of many seasoning MS users, to beat
that needs some really good maths involving details as small as power
consumption to provide a water tight, cast iron, financial bias needed to
convince managers to use Linux on desktops.
4) What can Linux offer than MS Vista can't in terms of functionality and
this argument must be tailored to an organisations needs, so an Open
Source development team could readily adopt Linux desktops whereas call
centre staff will not if they have privileges on their workstations.
5) If you are potentially deploying to an environment where only one or
two applications are used on a regular basis on locked down workstations
then if these applications can be run on a Linux desktop, databases for
example, then Linux has the potential to win out.
Just some thoughts, don't quote me in your business plan;).
Damian
--
Damian Brasher
www.interlinux.co.uk
www.diap.org.uk
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