Windows-As-A-Service-(WAAS) Are Enterprises Really Going To Do It? Will You?

Discussion in 'other software & services' started by itman, Jul 16, 2017.

  1. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Hi Rocklobster

    You are way off on my point of view. My point of view is that of an owner/operator, who has to be mindful of costs, training, etc. Also I don't know if you are aware that now in many restaurants, the terminals used by servers, not only feed info to the kitchen, but to inventory systems, and also supply ordering systems. For a restaurant chain I'd bet it's a major deal to change those systems. There is yes writing code, but there is also a lot of testing, implementing the changes and training. Then they have to deal with support which means everyone would who supports them also have to be brought of to speed.

    As to big business with many users, since in many cases they don't even do updates and disperse them until they do a lot of testing I suspect the commissioning of a piece software and putting it place is a monumental task. Also consider the cost is far from trivial. What may cost $200 to put on a machine, when multiplied by several thousand machines suddenly becomes a major expense. Then factor into that training ete.
     
  2. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    USA still the best. But barely.
    If Linux is going to roll into businesses it's got to be a collective or deep pocketed investors. And at 1st maybe for 5 years the software, & training will have to be free or close to free. The hardware very low cost or free on loan. It has to be scaled up. From new small businesses that can't afford these & need help. Then up through the food chain. Might be 10 years till Linux has a 5% share.
     
  3. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    I meant the point of view of the post you wrote which described your use of Windows office software which you said does not have a viable alternative on Linux.
     
  4. login123

    login123 Registered Member

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    Yep. Intel's Kaby Lake and AMD's Ryzen processors will be limited to win 10 in important ways.

    Another huge factor is microsoft's willingness to play plain old politics.
    Consider the turn around by Munich Germany from Linux back to windows.
    Coincided with election of a new mayor.
     
  5. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    A lot of big organisations are still using Windows XP. My wife is the manager of a restaurant, one of the big chains, she said their system runs on XP and they have had a lot of problems with hackers and malware.
     
  6. login123

    login123 Registered Member

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    I just run xp on personal machines, and have the time to look after them closely, so hackers & malware have not been an issue.
    Probably would be if too many folks had access to the machine, I guess.

    I think this WAAS stuff is largely a reaction to the durability of xp and the projected durability of win 7.
    If you can't get'em to buy the latest model car, stop the old one from working somehow.
     
  7. Lockdown

    Lockdown Registered Member

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    Microsoft has already officially announced WaaS subscription for Enterprise\Education. It will start there and move on later to other Windows editions. At some point in the future, all Windows editions will be subscription-only WaaS.
     
  8. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Okay then. Are there indeed comparable Linux programs, that could work the same way.
     
  9. Kerodo

    Kerodo Registered Member

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    Does this apply also to those who have already updated to 10 in the past? Or does the subscription fee only apply to newcomers to 10?
     
  10. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    I did a little reading and I think you all might be surprised at who I found has already decided Linux is the better option for them.

    The US Postal Service now has 900 Linux clusters spread across the country that are used to sort the nation's mail.
    Brigadier General Nick Justice said, "when we rolled into Baghdad we did it using open source." and that the US Dept of Defence is the biggest user of redhat Linux in the world.
    The city of Munich, Germany uses 14000 Debian Linux desktop computers to administer the city's municipal needs.
    The Federal Aviation Authority claimed to have saved 15 million dollars by migrating their systems to Linux in 2006.
    The French Parliament has over 1000 Ubuntu Linux workstations running Open Office.
    The Bank of China runs Linux in all of its 20000 branches and claims to have deployed Linux to run all of its banking systems.
    The US Federal Courts use Linux systems for case management, case tracking, finance and accounting, probation and pretrial services.
    The New York Stock Exchange uses Linux to run its trading platform.
    There are lots of others including Pergeot, Toyota, Burlington, Tommy Hilfigur, Amazon, Google, Virgin, Panasonic, Cisco, Phillips, Novell, IBM, all now using Linux systems.
     
  11. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    And those are only the tip of the iceberg. If you ever find time to comb over others the list is incredibly much longer.

    Makes perfect sense though.
     
  12. Dark Star 72

    Dark Star 72 Registered Member

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  13. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    that is a very impressive list indeed. But there situation doesn't apply to mine for one big reason. All organizations you listed have one thing in common. Some one proposes the change they've made, some body approves it, but none of those people as individuals have the cost come out of their pockets. Anything I do with my company comes right out of my own pocket. So to make this kind of change would be a pretty significant investment, and what would be the return?
     
  14. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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    Likewise. if it ever comes to be a subscription service for home users it's not likely to change anything on this end.

    Windows 8.1 is been a total workhorse and I suppose could reach enough mileage to outlast it's user. Also I use alternatives to Word/Office that produce great spreads and such while not being tied into common branches we read all the time are targeted. So that's another plus.

    I really do want to get a Linux line up and running though but Bill Gate's enthusiasm still has me hooked. Not that much a fan of today's Microsoft but it is what it is and does have it's uses, but not nearly so much to have as a subscription service in this camp anyway.
     
  15. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    Perhaps I should, but considering Microsoft then moved it's headquarters to Munich which for sure means all kinds of support right on their doorstep, and offered them a 90% discount on Windows licencing, switching back to Windows might be the best choice for them. My point was just to join the debate on whether or not Linux can be a suitable option for large organisations and point out that there are some notable ones who already think it is.
     
  16. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    Peter, I wasn't attempting to persuade you to switch to Linux. Only you run your business so no one such as myself can know what the computing requirements of that business is and offer you a cost/reward assessment. The point is, while there is a Linux community you have a choice.
    I migrated my computing needs to Linux years ago, and it didn't cost me a dime to install linux on my old Windows machines. The only thing I couldn't do on Linux is play windows games but I had a lot more control over what data goes out of my computers than I ever did with Windows. Many small businesses might find Windows better suited to their needs, if they already learned the office software they use and its not broken, why fix it?
    Large organisations have different considerations. For example the restaurant chain again. All their systems on XP, malware attacks left and right do they attempt to upgrade their old XP machines to W10 ?
    Do they replace all their XP machines with new W10 ones?
    Or do they migrate their existing machines to Linux and run something like floreant ?
    Incidentally, I have heard very good things about floreant.
    Its all about cost/reward, and what that means for each Individual, business, corporation or organisation is different.
     
    Last edited: Jul 24, 2017
  17. Mr.X

    Mr.X Registered Member

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  18. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Hi Rocklobster

    Gottcha
     
  19. Adric

    Adric Registered Member

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    Last edited: Jul 24, 2017
  20. EASTER

    EASTER Registered Member

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  21. RockLobster

    RockLobster Registered Member

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    Yes really. That was huge and M$ went all out to put a stop to it before other big cities used Munich as a model for their own systems. Moving their HQ there shows how serious they were about that. Munich could probably have got M$ to pay them to stop using Linux had they wanted to.
     
  22. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    The biggest strength of Linux is always the weakness which is the diversity and variety of it. Windows is a standardised platform. if you want to write software for linux what format do you ship it in and which distros do you support?
    I am not dismissing Linux and i do like it but can also see why it hasn't done as well on the desktop as people think it should of.

    I wish people would focus on a smaller number of distros. why so many different package management systems ,why so many desktop environments etc which are largely the same?
    If there was less distros with the same amount of people the distros would be even more polished and better.

    If you are running a help desk for a restaurant ordering system then how many distros and configurations would you want to support?
    just think of the training costs involved to get the helpdesk staff trained up to support the amount of different distros.

    I do wonder what the cost difference from traditional windows desktop and server licensing in a large business is compared to windows as a service is. how many businesses are still using office 2003 and windows xp nearly 3 years after the EOL? if the cost is similar but businesses are on the newer version of windows then it is a good thing.

    I do feel that Microsoft do need to slow down and release a new build once a year at the most.
    I work for a company that supplies assistive technology software and many of the software is developed by small companies that are finding it hard to keep up with Microsoft releasing a new build twice a year.

    I do feel that freebsd would be a better platform to develop for as it is a more standardised platform than linux.

    If all the programs i use worked on Debian or freebsd I would switch as it would give me more freedom as to what i have installed on the system.
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2017
  23. Kirk Reynolds

    Kirk Reynolds Registered Member

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    If they do it as a service for consumers, I may not have a problem with it if you can get a license over x number of years and it's comparable in price to what we have now. That's not much different than buying a new OS every x number of years right now as long as the price for the service is reasonable.
     
  24. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    for home use Office has become more expensive. you used to be able to get office home and student for around £80 for 3 computers supported for 10 years. now a boxed version is like £85 for one computer or £90 a year for a subscription for i think it is 5 computers?
     
  25. Kirk Reynolds

    Kirk Reynolds Registered Member

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    We'll see what happens. We may not have the best alternatives to Windows, but at least we have them.
     
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