The State of Corporate IT: A case for Linux

Linux Makes An Impact

In addition to all the benefits and possibilities mentioned earlier, Linux gave this company a bargaining chip in license negotiations with Microsoft. Earlier, they had passed on the Windows 2000 and Office 2000 upgrades, waiting instead to see what the future held after the evaluation. When the move to XP was being touted by Microsoft during subsequent meetings, they found that they were faced with some surprises. The proposed fee structure was radically different and established what amounted to a cost penalty for those who chose to stand pat instead of upgrading their operating systems and office suites to XP versions upon their initial release.

Currently, they had a large mix of Windows 9x and NT 4.x clients successfully running Office 97 software on laptops and desktops. They had stayed on top of bug fixes and system patches and found that for the most part, their existing infrastructure performed well enough as it was. They had maintained their NT 4.x Server infrastructure as well, opting not to move to Active Directory.

During this difficult time, Red Hat had proven to be a helpful ally. Instead of trying to push a whole-scale replacement of the infrastructure, they had worked to supplement it. Over time Linux brought more security, improved load balancing and an overall reduction in the growth rate of IT spending. Point of sale terminals were reliable, easy to manage and did not incur additional transaction costs. Their remote access and VPN configurations handled an ever increasing load with a higher degree of reliability and a lower cost. Their intranet had been transitioned over to Linux, and as a result cost less to maintain. It also eliminated interference with IIS based consumer and vendor systems accessed from outside of the company.

Through a series of such modifications, they had been able to establish and maintain a more stable, more cost effective configuration. Their network was more flexible and more able to meet the needs of a changing marketplace. Projects could be isolated to their own LAN or WAN segment without impacting other services and teams of experienced Unix/Linux workers could be called upon when NT resources were scarce. As a result, overall TTM (Time To Market) was reduced for mission critical consumer applications and customer satisfaction actually rose in the midst of explosive growth.

Linux was not the right tool for every job, but it certainly had proved its mettle as a cost effective alternative and helped give them some breathing room as they worked to bring soaring IT costs under control and reduce TCO (Total Cost of Ownership). It was ironic that only by turning to an alternative operating system were they able to realize some of the cost savings promised them when they initially switched over to NT. Linux had not only given them tangible benefits, it had increased confidence in their ability to manage their own systems.

This was important because over time there had been a growing fissure between what Microsoft had originally promised and the proposals they were making today. The constant tinkering with licensing agreements, the perpetually increasing fees and the imposition of bundling and usage restrictions had generated a lot of bad-will. The Microsoft of old that had come knocking on their door with friendly overtures was no more. In its place was a company that stifled their clients with ever-increasing pressure to upgrade or face the prospect of paying higher fees and receiving reduced levels of support.

So when the time came to make a decision on the transition to XP, they felt they were in a much stronger position. They had found a willing partner in Red Hat, a viable alternative in Linux and a sense of control over their own infrastructure that had previously been lacking. Though they might face higher licensing costs later on, they opted to again bypass the proposed Microsoft solution in favor of standing pat.