Engineering and risk management consultancy ESR
Technology has migrated to open source software in a bid to reduce
its own exposure to risk.
The move is aimed at cutting the financial and business risks
associated with vendor “lock-in”.
ESR, a venture capital funded spin-off company from AEA
(formerly the Atomic Energy Authority), has installed a complete
open source infrastructure to support 100 users across six sites in
the UK and Middle East.
The company worked with open source firm Sirius to design and
implement an enterprise-class solution that can be scaled up
without any additional software licensing costs.
ESR's desktops remain Windows-based, but all network services
are now running on open source software. The firm has deployed an
open source groupware solution – with e-mail, webmail, group
calendaring and directory services – in preference to Microsoft’s
Exchange Server and Active Directory.
Sean Harmer, ESR’s IT manager, said, “We inherited our old
proprietary infrastructure but were unhappy with its cost and
performance. We wanted more control over our own IT infrastructure
and a more responsive service.
“We knew open source software works seamlessly with our Windows
PCs and delivers a level of performance and availability that you
just can't find with expensive proprietary brands.”