Think Before You Speak: Migrating the Enterprise to Linux

[ Thanks to Mike Dailey for this link. ]

"1. Cost
""Bosses know calculators, so this is the number one thing to tell your boss why you should migrate to Linux. The total cost of ownership(TCO) of linux is lower than windows. While linux administrators are a little more expensive, they are a lot more efficient so this gives a benefit. The licensing costs are lower, you don't have to migrate to a new OS every few years, you can use the same hardware twice as long."

"Here the author makes and disproves his own argument; Linux does not deliver a lower TCO than Microsoft Windows server if the administrative costs are admittedly higher. Every bean counter in the Accounting department knows that the cost of the initial purchase of Windows is not where the majority of cost is realized; it is in recurring licensing fees and the cost of technical support resources. The "Linux is free and you have to buy Windows" argument adds little weight to the TCO argument, and is not an argument I would recommend making to management. When it comes to total cost of ownership Microsoft seizes on this point when dismissing the argument made by Linux supporters, yet avoids the real issue that raises eyebrows in a boardroom discussion of TCO."

Complete Story

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