Desktop platforms Toolkit

Story: The Manx turn from Unix to Windows

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Analysis...

1.A total migration project from a best fit environment to a one size fits all environment. Don't be surprised if many applications and technical processes will need to be re-purchased, re-installed, reconfigured, relearned and rewritten. And in the future all together all at once thanks to opting for a highly integrated and centralized environment.
2. One doesn't standardise on Windows, one opts for lock-in or not (do include the possible investment risk of having to do a total roll-back while maintaning at least two different environments until the roll-back is finished).
3. If your organization has bad internal logistics (eg: who buys what why) then bringing in new technology is symptom fighting not problem solving. A costly mistake.
4. A transition from a decentralized environment (140 locations) to a centralized environment (2 datacenters) will require an organization wide attitude change which is more then likely non existent at the moment so expect huge amounts of learning money to be payed.
5. A very costly mistake many decision makers make is to believe for more then one second that a Windows desktop is the same as a Windows server is the same as a Windows local network is the same as a Windows large network and is the same as a 'put all your eggs in one basket' datacenter environment on Windows.
6. A complete management solution should be build around all the business processes and include more then just technical management issues. Only if you get all the pieces at different levels to work together is when you start building up something. Otherwise you're just that... in pieces. Fragmented. Not to mention an easy target for handy salesmen.
7. Business is not so much about giving users a wow at the end of the day. It's more about giving them tools they can trust and rely on to do their jobs better and more efficiently. The average house isn't build with a Swiss army knife you know. The right professionals need to have the right professional tools in a professional way to get the job done professionally.
8. The average Windows skills are usually the ones practised at home. Summed up as follows: MSN, mailing jokes and pictures, attracting spam, allowing spyware, clicking yes on the popup before reading and understanding what is happening, copying the local harddisk to the server for backup reasons but keeping the latest version of vital documents locally for weeks on end, connect all sorts of (personal) hardware gadgets to the company equipment, download movies, swap musci files, print family photos, disable the antivirus for a performance boost, install all sorts of handy tools and tons more of non work related ways of getting thru one more boring day at the office. The only realistic way to avoid all that (ask any high school administrator) is to not use Windows. Period. So basicly, once you strip away all the unwanted functionalities Windows has to offer users but are not exactly desired within a business environment you end up with a situation that can be made to work on whatever platform with various management tools (otherwise, for one, how did all your users master how to deal with all those enterprise applications that didn't come pre-installed with Windows?).

In short, the Manx has no clue but they're not alone in that. But if I was a voter in the Manx I would certainly would want to know who not to vote for next time around in case this project doesn't turn out to be the succes it needs to be for the amount of tax money required.

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