Toolkit

Story: How to talk to Microsoft about Linux

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I am going to introduce you all to a concept that is far-reaching and beyond comprehension: Business User Buy-in = IT dept's existence.
Without business users, and without business user buy in, IT dept's get fired or worse, made a whipping boy. Anon, Network Admin USA is the only person I have seen make a reference to business users.

Let's face a fact. No user truly gives a shit what an IT boffin thinks about security, GUI, kernel, root, Apache, IIS, etc; what they care about is that things work, things are easy to use, things deliver what they need to and that there is some entity (be it Microsoft or someone else) accountable for the product. When all of the above criterion are met, users are happy. Remember, their jobs use IT, but are not IT! If users are happy, IT departments get to live another day. Unless you live in a dream world, IT is merely a service provider in the majority of the world's industry. They are not a profit centre for the large part, but rather a COST centre. And, without their users, they don't exist.

So, enough of the techno-babble and face this fact; if Linux is better prove it by getting your users to buy in; not by attacking Windows. If Windows is the option, criticise the product, work to improve it and stop being sissies and whining! BUT, YOUR BUSINESS USERS ARE THE KINGS, NOT YOU! Without them, none of us matter!

And finally, enough complaining about Microsoft. Monopolistic overtones or not, they are free to practise business the way they see fit and there are laws and rules in place to punish them if they go awry. But, tell me one for profit company in the world who would not go to all lenghts to protect its revenues and increase its profits. Your personal business opinions should not be the basis for judging what product is best for your business users and ultimately your organisation.

Companies are made up of real human beings - a corporation is not an animate object that acts of its own accord - it is the people there who create its culture. So by having a go at MS, you have a go at 55,000 people you actually don't know and more importantly, you get jack-shit done.

I am neither a proponent of Windows or Linux; merely a user who gets fed up with IT debating amongst themeslves what is best for me! Ask me, I am your customer; I will tel you what I want and you tell me the best way to deliver that at the best cost and with the lowest TCO and risk and have someone whom I can hold accountable for when it goes wrong, then I am a happy user and won't block IT from getting more funds for the next fiscal year.

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