Winemaker Drinks To Linux

An anonymous reader writes "Australian winemaker De Bortoli is a firm believer in Linux. CIO Bill Robertson says he's 'bemused by any notion that Linux is poorly supported in the enterprise since he has never had any trouble finding support for De Bortoli's open-source systems', and says that those IT managers having trouble simply 'aren't looking hard enough.' There are also some other good case studies here -- telecommuncations provider TransACT, online hotel booking service Wotif, engineering contractor Coates and investment and funds management group Aviva."

Comments

Support is overrated

[totallygeek]

Ten years ago, the biggest trouble I was having selling Linux solutions was the support issue. My rebuttal then was, "How often do you call Sun, Microsoft, or Novell?" Now, there are tons of company support outlets, and Linux is much more accepted by businesses. But, the focus has now shifted to, "Who can I get to support this?" Quality support people can be difficult to find. Of course, I hate always hearing that I might get hit by a Mack truck...

Re:Support is overrated

[bigtallmofo]

Ten years ago, the biggest trouble I was having selling Linux solutions was the support issue. My rebuttal then was, "How often do you call Sun, Microsoft, or Novell?"

Unfortunately, perception is and always has been reality to a certain extent. Remember the old adage, "Nobody ever got fired for buying IBM."? It's getting better, but to a certain extent it's true of Microsoft now.

Going Linux might be considered a radical idea with big risks. If the slightest thing goes wrong, you might be looking for another job.

If you go Microsoft which is perceived as "the natural choice" by some, if something goes wrong, not many bosses would blame you.

This doesn't make it right, but it is reality for many.

Not looking hard enough?

[HangingChad]

and says that those IT managers having trouble simply 'aren't looking hard enough.'

I would argue that they're not looking at all. Not only are they not looking, they're not taking sales calls from companies that do support and customize OSS apps. They're making an effort not to know.

Re:Isn't this EXACTLY the point?!?

[WinterSolstice]

Well, considering the support we have had from IBM Tivoli, I'd rather rely on OSS. We have been unable to take reliable backups for 4 months, and had a "critsit" ticket for 3 months. IBM couldn't care less, and couldn't be providing worse service if they tried.

For the money, just as easy to go OSS.

-WS