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Is There Life Beyond Windows? Pros, Cons and Costs of the Major Operating Systems

Is There Life Beyond Windows? Pros, Cons and Costs of the Major Operating Systems
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Market share and trends

The major operating systems are Windows, Mac OS, UNIX and Linux.

Windows decisively dominates the workstation market, with almost 90% of market share. Windows XP is still the major workstation operating system, with 65% to Vista’s 24%. Mac OS increased its workstation market share to about 10% over the past 5 years and is gaining traction in the business world for the first time - from 1.1% in 2006 to 4.5% in 2008. The recent increase in Mac market share is likely attributable to the Mac now being able to run Windows seamlessly, and to user backlash after the introduction of Vista. It will be interesting to see if Windows 7 will reverse this trend.

Windows and UNIX each command about a third of the server market. Linux has a tiny presence on workstations but accounts for 16% of the server market. Mac Server has minimal server market penetration.

Pros, cons and costs

The major advantages of Windows are availability of business applications software, support and resources, and very high mainstream comfort levels. The high cost of matching Windows applications on other systems and the high cost of migration are the greatest barriers to change.

Despite somewhat higher hardware costs, total cost of ownership for the Mac is generally lower than that of Windows. Mac OS offers the advantages of less “user friction interface”, higher productivity, lower maintenance and support costs, and better security.

Windows licensing costs are far higher than the other operating systems. Mac servers include unlimited licences, and UNIX and Linux are free. Estimates were that there would be 500,000 new pieces of malware (viruses, trojans etc) for Windows by the end of 2008. Threats to Mac OS, UNIX and Linux are negligible.

Total cost of ownership findings for servers are mixed, with some studies finding higher TCO for UNIX and Linux, others for Windows – depending on who commissioned the study. Linux and UNIX offer low maintenance requirements, exceptional stability and very good security. Most Web servers run UNIX or Linux, while office servers are mostly Windows. Key business applications server software can often only run on Windows.

Mixed networks often make tremendous business sense, as they allow businesses to match systems to their needs instead of vice versa.





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Michiel Jonker
As a Certified Information Systems Auditor, Michiel assists businesses in a professional capacity by evaluating the threats to their businesses. He acquired the necessary knowledge, skills, and techniques to minimize a business owner’s risk of business failure and to maximize his chances of high growth and success. He strongly believes that you CAN maximize your chances of business success, by implementing the business solution he has advocated for more than 12 years in your business plan and planning. Michiel has decided to share his experience with business owners by putting almost everything he knows in a business plan and survival guide (compiled in an e-book format) and written as a high growth SMB coaching course for SMB business owners, directors and managers - titled as the “Survival Kit for Small and Medium Businesses - Profit from your Business Risks!” According to Michiel, his goal was to add new techniques to a business owner’s business planning survival kit and instruct him or her in using these in the future - without any help from a consultant! For more information about the benefits of implementing profit protection planning in your business, please visit: http://www.business-around-the-globe.com - Visit Michiel Jonker's Website

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George Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website

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Dave Kurlan is a best-selling author, top-rated speaker and thought leader on sales development.  He is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website


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Linda Jacobson
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Linda Jacobson is Partner and General Manager at Nash Networks Inc. We provide computer support and managed IT services to businesses in Toronto and the GTA. Our clients are usually from 5-50 employees and often have complex IT needs and low tolerance for downtime. We manage several mixed Windows, Mac and/or Linux or UNIX networks. We are producing a series of articles in 2009 to educate business owners about IT, with a focus on costs, productivity, and cost-effectiveness. The series is titled, "Making every IT dollar count!"


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