"In previous articles I've advanced the proposition that the reason Linux has failed to garner any big wins in the corporate desktop market, is that the cost/benefit case is not, after all, very compelling, despite what we would like to believe. The most recent article explored the cost side from the perspective of the corporate CIO, and concluded that the cost picture of switching to Linux on the desktop is not very rosy. While there are savings in the range of $115,000 over three years offsetting costs are present too (we identified at least $50,000 to $60,000) and there are significant risks.
"But even if that is true, what about the benefits? Surely a shift to linux will bring advantages that are worth the switch. Unfortunately, the hard truth again is that real dollar benefits are hard to justify. Consider the dimensions of ease of use, security, software availability, stability, support costs, lengthened hardware life and adaptability..."
