Toolkit
Story: HP, Novell do desktop Linux deal
Posted by: Anonymous (Tuesday 20 April 2004, 1:42 PM)
For those companies that dont own their own server technology and linux distribution this is a huge risk. I dont think most companies are going to be willing to bet their business on the technology evangelism that seems to be largely behind the linux desktop push.
A couple of other points:
1. Novell does not have a great track record with patching and releasing information about bugs that require a patch. This is very frustrating and has been going on for years.
2. Novell has a serious problem with facts in the docs available on their web site. The worst are the comparison documents with competing products. Blatant lies dont make me more comfortable with their products.
3. MS products are not always a panacea but the products typically work and you can get support.
4. Your competition may be using Windows XP and Office 2003. Even if Suse and Openoffice are acceptable, they do not increase productivity when compared. I dont have scientific data, but I do use both Office 2003 and Openoffice and Openoffice is lacking in a number of features. In a time when ever ounce of productivity counts, this is not a good business bet.
On the other hand - I think this move is a great business move for Novell. If they combine it with some better documentation and support practices they may be able to bridge the gap and become a credible choice.
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