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Linux on the Desktop - March 2009
Practicalities of deployment in a real world business environment

A. ABOUT YOU AND YOUR ORGANISATION

1. How many employees does your current organisation (or the organisation you are working for as a consultant/subcontractor) have?

Over 50,000
5,000 to 50,000
1,000 to 5,000
250 to 1,000
10 to 250
Less than 10

2. What is your past/current experience with desktop Linux?
Please indicate primary role in relation to each of the following

 
As Manager
As Consultant
Hands on
Observer Only
None
Involvement in past investigation/pilot (complete)
Involvement in past deployment (complete)
Involvement in ongoing investigation or pilot
Involvement in ongoing deployment
Support/maintenance of existing implementation
Other (please specify)

3. What is the largest rollout or potential rollout of desktop Linux for business use you have experience of or have considered from a practical perspective?

More than 5,000 users
250 to 5,000 users
50 to 250 users
10 to 50 users
2 to 10 users
1 user (me)
Not applicable

B. TARGETING LINUX DEPLOYMENTS

4. Thinking of the total number of desktops/notebooks in your organisation (or the one you are currently contracted to), how would you quantify the following?

 
None
1
2-10
10-50
50-250
250-5,000
More
Total desktop/notebooks (all OSs)
Machines running Windows XP
Machines running Windows Vista
Machines running Mac OS X
Machines running desktop Linux
Other (please specify)

5. In your experience, which of the following types of users would you regard as targets for desktop Linux deployment? Please also indicate whether you have deployed to each type of user as appropriate.

 
Primary target (high return on initial effort / investment)
Secondary target (good return once you know what you are doing)
Questionable target (dubious return on investment)
Currently deployed to this type of user?
IT development staff
IT operations/support staff
Other (non-IT) technical staff (e.g. engineers, technical designers/architects)
Creative staff (non-engineering, e.g. graphic design)
General professional users (relatively light and predictable use of e-mail, office tools, etc)
Transaction workers (mostly interacting with enterprise applications in a routine prescriptive manner)
Office based power users (e.g. finance staff, marketing teams, knowledge workers, etc)
Highly mobile professional users (e.g. sales, roaming managers, etc)
Other (please specify)
Other (please specify)

6. As a rough estimate, what percentage of users across the organisation is running desktop Linux now or could do in the future?

Percentage of users running desktop Linux now
%
Percentage of users that could theoretically run Linux based on their requirements
%
Likely percentage bearing politics, funding, resources and other practicalities in mind
%

7. Do you have any general thoughts or advice on how to assess and qualify groups of users to target with desktop Linux?

 

C. DEPLOYMENT PRACTICALITIES

8. What percentage of your current desktop Linux deployment is accounted for by the following specific distributions? Please also indicate which distribution(s) you would regard as preferred for the future.

 
None
<10%
10-49%
50-99%
100%
Preferred for future
Ubuntu
Red Hat
Fedora
Novell SuSE
Other (please specify)

9. What are the main considerations when evaluating/selecting a desktop Linux distribution for use in a business environment?

 

10. Which approaches are typically most relevant to delivering the following traditional Windows desktop application types on Linux? (tick multiple approaches as necessary)?

 
Deploy native Linux equivalent of original Windows application
Run original Windows application using runtime emulation (e.g. Wine or CrossOver)
Run original application using full copy of Windows (virtual machine or dual-boot)
Provide access to application via thin-client or browser based approach
Office tools (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation)
Web browser
E-mail
General enterprise app front-ends (e.g. ERP, CRM)
More specialist business applications (e.g. role or line of business specific)
Custom applications (e.g. built in-house or by SI)
Creative/design tools
IT development tools
IT operations/support tools (e.g. systems management, DBA, etc)
Other (please specify)

11. Considered overall, to what degree are the following required for dealing with traditional Windows desktop application needs (e.g. when a native Linux alternative isn't available)?

 
General requirement
Required for selected types of user
Rare/exceptional circumstances only
Not at all
Unsure
Windows/Linux dual boot capability
Full Windows virtualisation (e.g. VMware based)
Windows runtime emulation (e.g. Wine, CrossOver, etc)
Thin-client based deployment
Other (please specify)

12. Do you have any general comments or advice on the topic of software compatibility in relation to desktop Linux?

 

13. How would you rank the following potential hurdles to desktop Linux adoption?

 
No Issue
1
 
2
 
3
 
4
Major Blocker
5
Application availability/compatibility
Device driver availability/compatibility
Uncertain support from key vendors we rely on
Lack of migration tools
Compatibility/fit with current management tools/processes
Fragmentation of Linux distribution landscape
Need for skills and training of IT staff
Availability of external support and consulting
Making the business case / assessing ROI
'Politics' and organisational reticence
More pressing priorities for use of IT resource/budget
End user resistance to switching from familiar Windows environment
Other (please specify)

14. Do you have any general advice on how to minimise the risks associated with a desktop Linux deployment?

 

15. What about tips in relation to ongoing management and support?

 

D. THE BOTTOM LINE

16. If you were to net it all out, what are the top three reasons for adopting or considering the adoption of desktop Linux in a your specific business environment?

1.
2.
3.

17. And what would you regard as the top three reasons NOT to adopt desktop Linux in your specific business environment?

1.
2.
3.

18. And finally, how much would you agree or disagree with the following statements in relation to the deployment of desktop Linux as an alternative to Windows in particular?

 
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral/Unsure
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
The desktop environment becomes easier to secure
Support and administration overheads are lowered
The overall cost of running the desktop is lowered
Desktop provisioning and deployment becomes more flexible
End users are more productive
End users are happier
Business management are happier
IT staff are happier