[Gllug] slightly OT - linux consultancy enquiry

[Mark Preston]

Garry Heaton wrote:-
 >I hear everywhere the claim that Linux is a cheap alternative to >Windows
 >but is it really, considering the consultancly fees? Can someone tell >me
 >how Linux works-out cheaper for a small business which is already using
 >Windows (95/98/NT)? Apart from the stability factor, why would some
 >small office with an NT4 server go to the trouble of replacing it with >a
 >Samba/Linux machine if it's going to cost £750/600 per day to set-up?

 >I ask because I am training myself to offer such a service :-) but have
 >nagging doubts that no-one will want to pay for it.

It may very well not work out cheaper, but the whole point about 
open-source and free software is that it gives businesses the chance to 
control their own destiny in a way that is simply not possible if they 
are reliant on closed-source or proprietary software. If a business 
doesn't have access to the source codes of software programs that they 
rely on, then they are not totally in control of their business. Quite 
apart from  any philosophical arguments, most businesses are probably 
unaware of this at present, but only become aware when they are fairly 
well locked -in and will find it relatively expensive to change.
To quote Eric Raymond
"The brutal truth is this: when your key business processes are executed 
by opaque blocks of bits that you can`t even see inside (let alone 
modify) you have lost control of your business. You need your supplier 
more than your supplier needs you - and you will pay, pay and pay again 
for that power imbalance. You`ll pay in higher prices, you`ll pay in 
lost opportunities, and you`ll pay in lock-in that gets worse over time 
as the supplier, (who has refined it`s game on a lot of previous 
victims) tightens it`s hold."

It may well be that big companies will find ways of locking everybody in 
in the future, but at least Linux offers the potential to avoid this. 
Linux is not a cheap alternative to Windows, but more of an inspiration 
and a tribute to some of the finer points of human nature as regards 
sharing and collaboration. In business terms Linux is like getting your 
handcuffs off, if you are an end-user. www.hands.com shows that 
consultancy charges can be high, but the benefits in terms of 
controlling your own destiny as a business, and options when things go 
wrong should be better as well. Unfortunately the herd instinct plays 
it's role in preventing many businesses migrating to Linux/free software 
at present.

Regards,
Mark Preston




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