Almost every single business will make a decision at some point on what type of computers they will buy. Depending on the size of the purchase, various things can sway you on which type of machine to buy.
A while back, I wrote a White Paper about the various types of computers a mid to large size business would look at. Now, in my situation, I would need to ramp up 20 machines very quickly and be cost effective at the same time. I included various companies, various OS’s and Thin Clients.
The Study
Its taken awhile for me to actually publish this study online. A while ago, I offered it during a Slashdot article and got flooded for DAYS of requests for it. Now, you too can download a copy of the study… Download it, share it, use it for your own research, etc.
A year later, I’ll go through the study again to expand upon it, round it out a little more and update the information for “today’s” pricing. I’ll even hit on criticisms that I received from the initial report.
First, A Quick Review
While my report is pretty detailed, the information is about a year and a half old - way out of date. I’ll redo the numbers and see what discounts will come about. I also left out some important decisions like why I didn’t choose Windows. While my white paper was for professionals, I also didn’t make it look truely professional. When I initially offered the Workstation Report, it was in Beta form.
Criticisms
I’ll actually list the criticisms and respond to them.
C: I was biased towards the Sun servers.
A: Actually, no… I was truthfully hoping for a FreeBSD solution in the beginning. With the hardware and costs, this seems like it wasn’t an option unless the company built the computers themselves. Unfortunately, due to costs of hardware, this was not a good idea.
C: iMacs where never introduced.
A: This was my fault. I had looked at them, but the TCO of anything Apple in a large environment is pretty big. This is because of the standard hardware they use as well as OS X learning issues. Put an average Windows person on any Apple and they freeze up as soon as they see the mouse. Since Macs can now run multiple OS’s, they’ll be covered like everything else.
C: Windows was never covered.
A: Windows was not covered because of licensing costs, upgrade costs, security, viruses, spyware, etc. We never wanted Windows as the operating system but systems where configured with Windows because its hard to get Dell, Compaq, etc to give you a system without them - until recently and even then, you still need to fight for no OS. Now, the last thing about Windows is the staff needed to support it. With permissions, crashes and the like, I would need at least 1 person per 150 workstations and that would keep them decently busy - no thanks. This time around, I’ll list each machine separately, with no OS option (that I can choose). I’ll make a separate area for OS selections.
C: Dells, Compaqs, etc are cheaper than the final recommendation.
A: This was covered in the Study. They may be cheaper, but when you look at electricity requirements, heat output, warranty issues and all the Windows issues above, its clear that they are more expensive.
C: Linux & FreeBSD were not officially covered, just mentioned like Windows. Why?
A: Well, initially, I was going for a hardware solution then decide what to put on it, so OS’s where not supposed to be officially covered. This was my fault by not putting that into the study.
Whats Next
Currently, I’m in the process of researching for a new whitepaper. Due to the sheer size of the research, I expect this to be done by Christmas or so, depending on what happens in my life. Keep checking back for updates.
