There are important cost factors to consider before using this
alternative operating system for our business. Customer support cost and the
real cost of open source software. Although, the advantages listed above are
all ideal for our business, we must consider the overall cost. Open source
vendors allow you to see how codes are written, it allows you to modify and
make changes all at no cost. This changes once you use the software for
commercial use. At this point you’d have to pay a license fee. The cost of a
license fee can be thousands of dollars. This is why it’s important to
understand how the open source licensing works in respect to our enterprise
than just simply being able to set up an OS. Another cost would be the customer
support needed. Ubuntu offers documentation, which is pretty much a guide with basic
instructions, a technical answer system, free tech community support and
professional support services at a fee. Canonical’s global support and services
team provides around-the-clock coverage for Ubuntu deployments all over the
world all at a cost.
According to the Register site, the desktop version of Ubuntu
Advantage comes in Standard and Advanced editions. The Ubuntu Advantage
Standard desktop edition is for general business activities such as email and
web browsing. The Advanced desktop edition is for more intensive desktop use,
such as development work. The Standard desktop edition runs $105 per desktop
and the Advanced edition runs $165 per desktop. Although, we could use the free
forum support Ubuntu offers, it can take weeks before getting a response from
the forum.
Another cost would be the loss of productivity, employees would
have to adjust to this new desktop interface and learn how to navigate in this
system. Based on my experience, its taken me some time to navigate through this
and although it’s very comparable to the software from Microsoft, it still
requires spending time getting used to the desktop features. Not to mention, it
froze my computer many times.
My recommendation would be to keep utilizing Windows 7 as our
operating system. At least with Windows you pay once and you own the software
and know what to expect or estimate what costs we will incur. Ubuntu can become
very expensive and for our small business, we cannot afford the cost of
productivity loss to implement this OS or the cost of professional tech fees which
are essential in any business. Ubuntu is definitely affordable at the initial
stage because it’s free but it can become very expensive as our company grows.
At this time, we are not ready for the risk of an unpredictable cost.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/06/07/canonical_ubuntu_services/
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