I was reading an article the other day claiming that Linux on the desktop is dead.  By that, what they were saying is that businesses were not going to move to Linux as a desktop platform because of software constraints, and administration of the Linux Desktop environment.

I really do not understand this thinking.  Here are my thoughts on why Linux is still a viable platform for the desktop, especially for the SMB, but even for a larger business.

“MOST USERS ONLY USE THE BROWSER AND OFFICE APPLICATIONS”

That’s it, there are of course some specialty software’s out there that can only run on a windows platform, but in today’s day and age those are getting fewer and fewer.  I have worked in the banking industry, and advertising, and have been doing it since 1995, and still I have found that most users only use two applications, the browser, and some office platform.

So, how do you get around this need for some specialized software that only runs on Windows, Virtualization screams the loudest.  At my last job, we created some virtual windows machines and delivered a script to the users machines that would allow them to pick an RDP session from a list to start a windows desktop and do the tasks they needed from there.  That is one solution.

Another could be application virtualization, or even in some cases Wine on Linux, the point is there are ways around the issues of using Linux on the desktop, and these solutions will not break the bank of an SMB having to buy a few licenses of Windows.  The savings for the SMB will come from the low cost of Linux, and the ability to run older hardware longer.

Now you could argue the Linux doesn’t integrate well with Active Directory, well I am here to tell you it can and does.  I have an Active Directory domain controller I built using Samba, and my Linux workstation integrates perfectly into it.  I log into my domain when I log on to my workstation/laptop, and I even have offline access to my AD account when I am away from my office.

If you are an SMB, or really any business that is looking to save some money on your IT budget, give us a call, we will be glad to come and make an evaluation, and if feasible move you to a Linux platform that will work for your business.