A Vancouver B.C. law firm has overruled Microsoft Windows’ objection to being replaced with SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop (SLED) 10. The firm’s IT manager, Richard Giroux says that level of downtime he’s seen in other firms is:

“Simply unacceptable.”

After testing a number of competitive desktop Linux distributions, Giroux chose SLED 10, citing it’s speed and included applications as a deciding factor in SUSE’s favor. To handle a number of problem or non-cross-platform applications the firm uses Citrix clients running on SLED, including it’s dictation and audio functions, along with Microsoft Office suite and other applications that primarily run on Microsoft Windows.

“Having an open environment with Linux gives us the opportunity to select from thousands of high-quality open source programs,”

One of the other features about SLED that Giroux likes is the subscription model, as it’s not categorized as a capital outlay expense, rather it’s an operational expense. The flat subscription costs are much more predictable for budgeting and the inclusion of many standard applications in SLED is an added plus.

“By nature, open source software has to integrate well with other applications, so we can implement them easily and cost-effectively. One application for transcription playback has already saved us thousands of dollars.”

As a final shot across Microsoft’s bows, Giroux cites his ability to do the entire office upgrade in a single weekend and the (conservative estimate) 20% maintenance savings effective immediately.

Read more about Whitelaw-Twining’s summary judgement in favor of Open Platform Solutions in the Novell Customer Showcase.

Enjoy,

RossB