From: Howard Lowndes [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
>
>Guys, thanks for all the info on this topic. The bloody M$ prices are
>even higher than I originally contemplated, perhaps I have
>been avoiding
>Microsh!t for too long to not be aware of the costs.
>
>It really makes you wonder about whether these businesses that
>go down the
>M$ path understand what is meant by fiduciary care and good
>governance. I
>guess they just have too large budgets.
Not wanting to sound too much in defense of commercial software, but most of
the cost of a product isn't actually in the purchase price - it's in
maintenance. While it may cost several thousand to install a network for a
dozen people, you can chew that up in maintenance in less than a week if
something goes wrong, or downtime in less than an hour if they mess up their
network admin.
Most sites (Red Hat, VALinux, Microsoft, Novell etc.) have a lot of papers
on TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) all skewed to their own favour and this is
the real figure you should be looking at. Remember the real cost savings
are not in the install cost, but in developing a system that requires
minimal maintenance and more importantly minimal calls to tech support.
John Wiltshire
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