As I discovered from switching parts of our company over to linux, Linux for Business, is largely a human problem.
There are basically 2 types of people in my company: there are those, when presented with all the facts and numbers that Linux will save us a lot of money, still insist that they want to hold on to their Windows machine, even if it means they need to start maintaining their own laptops. And then there are those simply and don't care one way or the other what OS we use (or don't know the difference).
I still get some users that come to me and complain: "I am a Windows guy, what is this Linux machine doing on my desk?" To which I now reply: "Your boss told me to put it there." These are usually users who are comfortable of running their own Windows machines at home, and they feel like I have yanked them out of their comfort zone by putting them on an unfamiliar desktop.
The hardest part was perhaps getting some of the managers to support the idea. In fact, none of our managers like the idea of switching to an "inferior" OS, but our Chief Financial Officer loved the idea that he can cut loose tens of thousands of dollars in Windows licenses per year, so he gave us full support.
It's a human problem, not a technical problem (Score:2, Interesting)
There are basically 2 types of people in my company: there are those, when presented with all the facts and numbers that Linux will save us a lot of money, still insist that they want to hold on to their Windows machine, even if it means they need to start maintaining their own laptops. And then there are those simply and don't care one way or the other what OS we use (or don't know the difference).
I still get some users that come to me and complain: "I am a Windows guy, what is this Linux machine doing on my desk?" To which I now reply: "Your boss told me to put it there." These are usually users who are comfortable of running their own Windows machines at home, and they feel like I have yanked them out of their comfort zone by putting them on an unfamiliar desktop.
The hardest part was perhaps getting some of the managers to support the idea. In fact, none of our managers like the idea of switching to an "inferior" OS, but our Chief Financial Officer loved the idea that he can cut loose tens of thousands of dollars in Windows licenses per year, so he gave us full support.