[linux-government] Re: The Manx turn from Unix to Windows
- From: Joachim Bauernberger <joachim.bauernberger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: linux-government@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2004 10:05:49 +0100
Hi,
On Thursday 02 December 2004 19:37, Nathan Olberding wrote:
> This does point out a weak point in Linux's offer, though it's not as
> weak as this article might point out. It's also one of the few *big*
> plusses of Windows (but then we can get in to a discussion over a
> homogenous environment and how it reflects the issue with the potato
> famine).
I like your analogy :-))
Sadly, I think that most news articles which are posted are ambiguous in a
sense that they become *more* interesting when the journalist exaggerates
just enough to get his populism accepted by the majority of readers.
In this case the writer was obviously not up to speed with the latest
developments on the market.
I think he was simply unaware that today it _is_ possible to have a Linux
solution (like those offered from IBM, Novell, etc ...) which are as
heterogenous as the solution that Microsoft sells.
regards,
~/joachim
>
>
> On Thu, 2 Dec 2004 09:04:56 +0100, Joachim Bauernberger
>
> <joachim.bauernberger@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/windows/0,39020396,39175662,00.htm
> >
> > Matt Loney
> > ZDNet UK
> > December 01, 2004, 18:10 GMT
> >
> > The Isle of Man is ditching Unix and shunning Linux as it moves its
> > infrastructure from a heterogenous enviornment to Windows
> >
> > The Isle of Man Government is to standardise on Microsoft's Windows
> > platform, ditching its existing Unix operating systems and choosing to
> > not go down the Linux path that has attracted some high-profile public
> > sector wins lately.
> >
> > Allan Paterson, director of the information systems division in the Manx
> > government, said the move was a "strategic position" with no overarching
> > contract, but just an intention to standardise on the Windows platform
> > over the next five years.
> >
> > "We could change that tomorrow, we're not locked down. This is a
> > relationship rather than a hard contract."
> >
> > When Paterson came to the job, he said, he was struck by "the number of
> > products we had in the same space, each requiring different support skill
> > sets. We had the kind of scenario where a department would phone up a
> > third party supplier for a quote on application outsourcing one week, and
> > another department phoning up a week later for the same thing would be
> > offered a different platform."
> >
> > Now, the Sun, Novell and SCO UnixWare servers spread across 140 locations
> > will make way for windows Windows Server 2003 running on Unisys ES7000
> > and Clearpath servers in two data centres. There were many reasons for
> > the move, said Paterson. In the case of SCO, it was that different
> > suppliers would provide different versions of the software, making
> > management a huge headache.
> >
> > On the desktop, said Paterson, the government had only just finished
> > upgrading to Windows 95 in 2003, but had "all sorts of compatibility
> > problems." Now he is upgrading to Windows XP, with Active Directory.
> >
> > Asked why other desktop solutions were not considered - such as Star
> > Office - Paterson said he was looking for more than just an office suite.
> > "We wanted a complete management solution around the desktop. This is
> > about service delivery, availability, reliability of desktop services."
> >
> > "I am a technical person," continued Paterson, "but this is not a tech
> > decision. It is a business decision. Too often it is presented as a
> > technical decision, but really it is about the wow you give to the end
> > user at the end of the day."
> >
> > Because the Isle of Man is not part of the UK -- it is a self-governing
> > crown dependency that is able to make its own laws -- purchasing
> > decisions can be made independently of the UK's Office of Government
> > Commerce, which recently issued report promoting the consideration of
> > open-source software in the public sector. "We're not covered by the
> > Office of Government Commerce guidelines on procurement. I don't have to
> > look at open-source software every time. I can say, "Guys. we have all
> > these Windows skills, let's go this way. We don't have to comply with UK
> > targets, but we can learn from the UK."
> >
> > --
> > ICQ: 214527045
> > URL: http://www.bauernberger.de/
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