Is Bill sweating yet?

The June 2004 issue of Inc. has an interesting article by Alan Deutchman – Bill’s Excellent Adventure – a story about Microsoft’s anxiety over Linux.

…But despite its long history of dominance, Microsoft faces a looming threat from Linux and the insurgent open-source “free software” movement. Linux could do what the Justice Department couldn’t: end the era of Microsoft’s near monopoly and strip a sizable chunk of its sales and profits in the coming decade.

I’m managing one organization’s migration from MS to Linux. We’re about halfway through the five-year project – slow, steady steps. The motivation – money. This non-profit just cannot afford licensing costs. So as the old NT and 98 machines can’t be upgraded to the latest XP or W2003, they have plenty of life for Linux –which just doesn’t take as much resources.

So it’s a mixed environment. We’re at about 50/50, Linux vs. Microsoft, and Linux is winning on the dependability front. The biggest issue is change management, the die-hard Microsoft OS and Office users just don’t want to change, causing quite a bit of anxiety. But after a couple weeks or months, they’re converts and can easily move between the operating systems without any major issues.

With mighty IBM putting its clout behind Linux, some small businesses are starting to convert, often with impressive results. Satellite Records, a 35-employee music retailer in New York City, made the switch after IT director Steve Shapero found Microsoft’s software simply too high-maintenance. …Other customers were motivated by cost savings from not having licensing fees.

As the technology world turns….