In the face of growing competition from Linux,
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer outlined the economic and
security advantages Windows has over Linux, the potential dangers
of open source involving indemnification, and the intent to
aggressively convince Unix shops to migrate to
Windows.
Ballmer contended that the increasingly higher prices companies
such as IBM, Red Hat and Novell charge for technical services and
support, along with costs associated with indemnification, now
outstrip the financial advantages of free open-source
software.
"It's pretty clear the facts show Windows provides a lower total
cost of ownership than Linux. The number of security
vulnerabilities is lower on Windows, and Windows responsiveness on
security is better than Linux, and Microsoft provides uncapped IP
[intellectual property] indemnification of their products. [There
is] no such comprehensive offering available for Linux or open
source," he wrote in the memo.
According to the memo, Microsoft last year took a closer look at
its volume licensing contracts to see what else the company could
do to increase customer satisfaction. He said the top issue users
discussed by customers was patent indemnification, which Microsoft
then capped at the amount the customer paid for the software.
Consequently, he wrote, Microsoft lifted that cap for volume
licensing customers who are often the target of IP lawsuits.
"No supplier today stands behind Linux with full IP
indemnification. In fact, it is rare for open-source software to
provide customers with any indemnification at all. We think
Microsoft's indemnification already is one of the best offered by
the leading players in the industry for volume licensing customers,
and we're looking at ways to expand it to an even broader set of
our customers," Ballmer wrote.
Microsoft also pledged to do a better job educating corporate
users about issues surrounding indemnification, spelling out the
financial ramifications for their businesses.
Ballmer emphasised Unix migration in its list of strategic
initiatives for the next 12 months. He referenced the recent
one-year anniversary of the company's "Get The Facts" campaign that
has attempted to lay out in a no-frills fashion for Unix users the
technical and cost benefits of choosing Windows over Linux.
Ballmer advises IT and other business decision makers to migrate
ERP systems from more expensive Unix environments to Windows.
He said an independent survey of shops that have completed a
migration of their SAP (Profile, Products, Articles) or PeopleSoft
(Profile, Products, Articles) ERP systems from Unix to Windows
found more than a 20% reduction in the numbers of servers required
compared with Unix.
He cited as one example the Raiffeisen Bank Group, Austria's
largest bank, which was running its shop with Unix and did an
extensive evaluation comparing Linux and Windows.
The bank finally chose Windows Server 2003 because it believed
the Microsoft server offered the most economical solution as well
as better performance.
Finally, Ballmer contended that Windows can provide corporate IT
shops with superior security over competitive Linux servers, saying
the company has made software security "a top priority the last
three years".
He said Microsoft has invested heavily in a multi-pronged
initiative to improve software quality and a number of development
processes.
Ed Scannell writes for Infoworld