Replacing Linux with Windows saves £1 million

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 04 December 2008 02:05

Business IT - Open Source

Small wonder that Fleming said "With the old open source software we ran before switching to Microsoft, employees would tell us they felt like they were stepping back in time when they came to work."

So all you Linux mavens - is there a modern equipment hire application for your favoured operating system? Or an ERP application that, like Dynamics, can be used for this purpose?

And while we're looking for feedback, what do you experts have to say about Fleming's claim that "We also felt vulnerable to security breaches because of the less stringent authentication protocols compared with Microsoft Windows"?

As for "We also don’t miss the complaints about sluggish performance, applications seizing up, and disappearing icons that we used to get with open source", that sounds just like my Windows PC!

Another part of the money-saving equation seems to be that increasing the number of Windows based systems reduced the total licence fee by 20 percent.

That sounds odd to me. You'd have thought that adding at least 500 licences would increase, not decrease the cost. But according to Fleming, "We moved to a different banding in our existing Select Agreement, and then switched some areas to an Enterprise Agreement.

"The Enterprise Agreement will save us a lot of money by consolidating licensing."

If Speedy Hire really can save their million quid, all power to them.

But do those of you with knowledge of both Microsoft and open-source products think that is achievable? Tell us what you think.