[ale] top selling points for linux...? [anti-flame]

[Christopher Bergeron]

I really appreciate all the background I've gotten.  My company does legal
financial collections.  We are picky and don't just accept "any" client.  We
have high profit margins and target "big fish".  As such, showing them how
important the little details of my network are, I'm hoping they get the
point that the big issues are already taken care of (they are, we chose
linux!).  I'm a performance-monger and I want as streamlined and bulletproof
of a network as I can get.  I just want to "empower" the marketing people by
letting them in on my secret weapon - Linux.  With the alterior motive of
spreading the linux word to any potential clients; and how stable / superior
it is.  I've been called a zealot many times, but I can't think of any
people that favor Windows after they've [thoroughly] learned linux.  Most
give up after they determine that they can't get a "paper" cert (ala MCSE).
Windows has a place, sure, on the desktop now, but that's quickly changing.

I like having important things to believe in.

My country and my OS top my list at this point.  and I'm hoping my country
doesn't sell out to M$ with the latest settlement talks.
:)

</RANT>
CB





-----Original Message-----
From: Thompson Freeman [mailto:tfreeman at intel.digichem.net]
To: ale at ale.org
Sent: Monday, November 26, 2001 11:51 AM
To: Christopher Bergeron
Cc: Ale
Subject: Re: [ale] top selling points for linux...? [anti-flame]



Well, for starters, you might want to contact the people in Key Largo
(??) who have gone full Linux city wide. They may have more concrete cost
data with which you can work with, as well as staffing levels.

The big question I have at the moment is - how well can you document your
points? Your audience may not appreciate a nuts&bolts penny by penny
workup, but I suspect you should have such a workup available to you.

On Mon, 26 Nov 2001, Christopher Bergeron wrote:

> I'm not a salesman, but in an attempt to help my sales/marketing
department
> understand why _my_ MIS dept. is better than a Windows shop.  Could you
guys
> help me come up with a few that I might've missed.  Again, my target
> audience is a "technically inclined" sales group, but not "too technical".
>
> ROI - with Linux we get more for our money in the long run.  We save on
> licensing fees and maintenance in general by bringing support "in-house".

Also - in the eternal struggle with trouble makes, it is vastly simpler to
update your Linux farm's software than Windows. Plus you can make some
structural changes which make it even easier to maintain by using
Xservers/terminals rather than full systems at some/all workstations.

>
> Performance/Efficiency - Linux outperforms _most_ Windows equivalents in a
> production environment (ie, Samba vs. Native Windows file sharing, MySQL
vs.
> SQL Server, etc).
>
> Open archictecture - Linux is "open source" meaning it can be
tailored/tuned
> to work "better" in any given situation.  With Microsoft software (the
> kernel particularly) you are locked in.  A good analogy is that it's like
> driving a car with the hood sealed shut.  Your skills are wasted if you're
a
> mechanic (programmer/sys admin).

Again - examples? For both the above points.

>
>
> Does anyone know of any other good points or anlaogies that could make
this
> stuff crystal clear for my audience?
>

What are your marketing people marketing? In general that is. You already
know that you need to bias your presentation to address the interests and
concerns of your audiance.

Other points possible which may parrot other responses:

Relative security of Linux/Unix against virii. Most of the virii authors
are targeting MS anyway, and the Unix division of administrator and user
helps frustrate many of the others. This impacts ROI, and general
stability concerns.

So hideously often I hear "Who do we sue when..." While you may not want
to present such a point, I'll bet you will need answeres for it at some
point.

Along with such a leagal idea - lisenses. While the procedures are
probably worked out - does anyone in business or private life _really_
want to give a third party access to their private data while proving that
there are no illegal copies of software running? This isn't theoretical
either - MS is determined to enforce its intellectual property
rights. Lawyers is expensive also. (Linux isn't going to call home to big
brother either - MS products? Who knows.)

I'm not sure how important this would be in a given environment, but the
open nature of the lisense should mean that you could burn a CD with the
general form of your setup for any employee for use at home, whether for
study, practice, or whatever. Since I like to see people empowered, this
is a plus for me. The milage may vary - as it were.

Isn't there a howto on this basic topic? In any event, I hope this helps

> TIA,
> CB
>
>
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--
===========================================
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
                    Lee Iacocca
===========================================
Thompson Freeman          tfreeman at intel.digichem.net



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