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The Linux distillery A case study: Video Ezy and Microsoft myths about open source lead to flawed network
The Linux distillery A case study: Video Ezy and Microsoft myths about open source lead to flawed network | A case study: Video Ezy and Microsoft myths about open source lead to flawed network |
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| by David M Williams | |
| Monday, 21 April 2008 | |
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Page 1 of 3 The messages are cleverly worded. The site alleges to deliver the hard “facts” about Linux, and the facts it puts forth are that while Linux is devoid of costly licensing it will cost you in the end, and moreso than a Microsoft solution and further that you’ll only achieve true productivity and stability in the world of Windows. Let’s take a look at one of these case studies. Let’s see for ourselves if we’re persuaded the report is reliable. I originally intended to comb through several but there is just so much to be said pulling each one apart that I can only fit one in. Do let me know if you enjoy it; if so I’ll do more. We’ll begin with Video Ezy, this is Australia’s largest video and DVD franchise operation with over 560 rental and retail stores throughout Australia and New Zealand. Outlets also exist in Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. The business need was to come up with a standard operating environment across all stores to increase reliability, tighten securitfy, reduce support costs and prepare franchises for a future which will provide video-on-demand. The case study promises an explosive battle with head-to-head comparisons between various open source technologies and a Microsoft platform designed by Microsoft Services themselves. Video Ezy chose “a solid corporate approach” which didn’t just meet the current need but provided a sound technology road map for the future. Indeed, the story begins with Video Ezy senior management hiring the organisation’s first ever CIO. This gentleman saw that the 560 individual outlets all had a mixture of technologies with no standardisation. The case study emphasises the market Video Ezy operates in is competitive and that the outlets are sensitive to costs. This lead to checking out open source offerings pretty quickly; the team evaluated Red Hat Enterprise Linux as a server and desktop platform, MySQL as a database and SuSE Linux. In the end Microsoft Services were hired to design a Windows environment. A platform was built around Windows Small Business Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Microsoft Windows XP Professional, using Microsoft Office on the desktop. The CIO says in the case study this platform is great because he can manage 560 locations centrally without remote support on the ground. He says the Microsoft solution is a great match because Video Ezy can apply the same standards and applications across the entire organisation. By contrast, he expressed Linux didn’t give value for money because it would cost extra in too many ways – administration, training and integration. For him, there were no tools like Microsoft Systems Management Server in the open source environment. Did the CIO get it right? Was his assessment free from bias? Let’s read on! CONTINUED |
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