31 August 2006
Business can benefit from Linux
Computer Active has a very interesting article about the benefits Linux offers to small businesses. Personally I'd say it offers benefits to all sizes of business.
Of course the obvious advantage for business is the cost or lack of cost of Linux. It is considerably cheaper for business, schools or anyone else for that matter to implement a Linux and open source system. Also businesses can change and configure the system to work in any way they like provided anyone who wants the code can get it freely.
Of course the security issue always comes into play. Linux has less viruses and vulnerabilities than Windows and with the direction Vista is going, it isn't likely to change anytime soon.
Of course the disadvantage is that it does require different knowledge than Windows systems but that is learnable and there are many places online to help Linux users and administrators.
The two most popular and useful pieces of software for all users of Linux include Samba which allows Linux and Windows machines to coexist in the same network. Samba is actually incredibly easy to set up with the hardest part of the setup being opening the firewall to allow it to connect to other computers. Apache provides a full functional professional web server which is the most popular currently.
Linux is one of the most powerful operating systems for businesses to use provided that there is someone who knows how to harness that power and use the system to the fullest for their needs.
Of course the obvious advantage for business is the cost or lack of cost of Linux. It is considerably cheaper for business, schools or anyone else for that matter to implement a Linux and open source system. Also businesses can change and configure the system to work in any way they like provided anyone who wants the code can get it freely.
Of course the security issue always comes into play. Linux has less viruses and vulnerabilities than Windows and with the direction Vista is going, it isn't likely to change anytime soon.
Of course the disadvantage is that it does require different knowledge than Windows systems but that is learnable and there are many places online to help Linux users and administrators.
The two most popular and useful pieces of software for all users of Linux include Samba which allows Linux and Windows machines to coexist in the same network. Samba is actually incredibly easy to set up with the hardest part of the setup being opening the firewall to allow it to connect to other computers. Apache provides a full functional professional web server which is the most popular currently.
Linux is one of the most powerful operating systems for businesses to use provided that there is someone who knows how to harness that power and use the system to the fullest for their needs.
Labels: apache, linux, os, OSS, samba, security
