February 4th, 2005
ex-World Bank CTO: Desktop Linux Interrupted
If you’re a member of the press and you write anything that’s remotely critical of Linux’s chances of success on the desktop (which I have), the Linux community unleashes a fury of fire and brimstone upon you. Invariably, your credentials to make any such judgment are dragged through the mud and a few people who like to take the heat get into the fire in your defense and the angry mob becomes even more enraged. When I write, I try to put myself in the head of an IT professional and wonder how they might view a particular situation and what sort of criteria might be driving their decision-making process. I think I’m qualified to do this. I used to be one of those IT professionals, responsible for developing customized database solutions and setting corporate standards for everything from desktop software to mainframe connectivity solutions and supporting thousands of end users in their use of PCs and networks. "Phooey" on your background and education (computer science, by the way) I’m pretty much told.
But now that the former CTO of World Bank W. McDonald Buck is chiming in on why desktops without Windows are financially harder than you think, perhaps the entire Linux community will take a deep breath and say "OK, we’ve got a problem." This isn’t just some guy putting himself in the head of an IT pro. This is a seasoned IT pro trying to figure out how he can make Linux make sense and, judging by what he’s written so far, he’s having a tough time of it. I can’t wait to read Part 2.
So, what are some of the highlights? One bottom line item is that big corporations like to buy from Tier One vendors (in fact, they have procurement rules about that) and none of the Tier One vendors make it very easy for an IT pro to do a little investigating on the sly (which is how many such investigations start). In my writings about desktop *nix offerings from Sun (Java Desktop System) and Novell (Novell Linux Desktop), one of my criticisms was exactly this OEM problem. Though the offerings come from two vendors with whom corporations are comfortable dealing, just try finding the hardware that they’re certified to run on, much less pre-installed on (not including Sun’s ridiculously expensive AMD box with no monitor for running the Solaris-based version of JDS). Several readers pointed me to a JDS-loaded system from Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart? Quick. Call the corporate purchasing department. Put Wal-Mart on the approved list and order me up 500 JDS systems. Make sure you add a gross of bullets in case I have to put one in my head after Thelma in electronics puts me on terminal hold after I make my first support call. Question: Is Wal-Mart even in a tier?
Another highlight is how Buck chalks off the TCO analyses that attempt to paint Linux in a more cost-friendly light than Windows, or vice versa. Hopefully, both crowds (proponents of Linux and Windows, respectively) will get this point: It doesn’t matter whether he’s justified or not in making this decision. Get over it. IT pros have conservative BS detectors. This is how they think and it’s not going change. They innately distrust any cost justifications that weren’t prepared by someone they already know and trust for input.
In trying to figure out the difference in cost between a Windows desktop and a Linux one, Buck basically resorts to trying to find a desktop without Windows (as opposed to trying to find one with Linux). In Dell’s case the system without Windows costs more than the one with it. Talk about a sad state of affairs. Even sadder, in the end of Part 1, he concludes with the following:
"It looks to me, however, like the Microsoft monopoly has such a stranglehold on the tier 1 manufacturers that it is now not possible for a corporate shopper to save money by avoiding Windows unless they are prepared to go outside the first tier (which brings another whole set of buying issues in organizations with strong procurement rules), or unless the size of the deal is large enough to merit special treatment."
He said it. Not me. Is it true? Maybe. Maybe not. Does it matter? No. This is how big customers think. Xandros, Linspire, Gentoo…I’ve heard from the folks at all of these companies (and their followers) about how great their offerings are. Unfortunately, to penetrate the corporate market, it takes more than greatness. It takes a channel and right now, one of those doesn’t exist.
| 02/05/05
