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| Ubuntu's Desktop |
Good morning Mr. Rolando,
Thank you for meeting with me this morning to discuss a new
operating system I recently have discovered: Ubuntu. This is a Linux base
operating system that is free to download, but does offer an upgraded service
for a fee. As I will explain, I believe that for our three business units, it
would be in our best interest to seriously consider switching from a Windows OS
to Ubuntu when our next upgrade is free.
In regard to Ubuntu, I do believe that with proper training,
it can be a fairly seamless transition for our colleagues. The desktop is laid
out with icon images along the left hand side and represent applications that
all co-workers are already familiar with. Even without explaining the icons,
one can identify the Microsoft Word-like app, Excel-like app, PowerPoint-like
app, and so on. Once those are opened, they act much like their Windows based
counterparts. I personally tried out each application and found it to be nearly
(if not exactly) identical to the Word applications we have all become familiar
with. Another benefit is that even if our company is using Ubuntu and a
customer is using
Microsoft, the documents can be shared and viewed without any
additional work.
As I mentioned earlier, there is a free version available to
all PC owners, but I believe we would want to purchase the Standard edition,
which is $700/servers. According to Ubuntu’s website, the Standard Ubuntu
Assurance programme, Global Support and Services, and more (Link #1). Edition
provides our company with server virtualization and integration into existing
infractures such as Windows network. Given the size of our three departments, I
believe having two servers located in our corporate headquarters would be
sufficient. While this brings the hardware cost to approximately $2,700, you
have to remember that we no longer will have to purchase the next version of
Windows for our company (Windows 7). The costs to purchase Windows 7
Professional is approximately $265 (Link #2) and considering we would need at
least 30 copies (10 copies/department), that would total $7,950.
Yet, I do foresee that we would need to train our employees
(30 in total) on the know-how of operating and navigating around Ubuntu.
Assuming that our four person IT department is already familiar and able to
teach a short seminar on Ubuntu, I would estimate 3 hours per person to become
familiar with the OS. We have to remember that we will still be using our
current program (SAP and Lotus Notes), so this is more of just being familiar
with the applications that Ubuntu offers and how to locate additional apps.
With the average salary per person to be $20/hour, it would cost $60/person and
$1,800 total.
The other effect that training has is the loss time that the
employees will be away from his/her desk. Using a rough estimate of each
employee handling two orders an hour that equate to $500 for each order
(estimate), each employee is losing the company $3,000 in sales during the time
that they are away. In total, that is $90,000 of missed sales. Yet, if you
recall from our earlier conversation, there will be a backup for each employee
so that the departments do not have to shut down during the training.
Therefore, I do not believe any orders will be missed.
So is Ubuntu worth it? According to an article I read on
PCWorld.com, Ubuntu provides free upgrades, no use for any-virus software or
anti-spyware applications, and thousands of free applications that are also
open source (Link #3). That way, our IT department can tweak and customize any
application to suit our needs better. I see this as an opportunity to have our
employees be innovators and recommend suggestions to have the apps more
tailored for our needs. Finally, think of the cost savings of not having to
upgrade our computers as Ubuntu does not require the latest technology to run.
Add this with the company’s ability to release major version of Ubuntu every
six months and their Long Term Support (with the paid membership) and OUR
company ends up saving in the long-run.
As always, I am more than happy to discuss the features and
benefits in greater detail at a later time, but I hope you do consider the move
from Windows to Ubuntu in time for our next upgrade.
Thank you.
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