Creating more business value is about lowering the total cost of computing, boosting return on investment, and helping companies achieve a faster time to market by allowing them to create solutions quickly, spending less time developing, integrating, and managing their applications.

Many companies are learning that Linux is an even better investment than closed source Windows or UNIX by offering lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Linux pays for itself faster than any other platform by lowering the long-term costs of application development, integration, and security update management.

Linux has more ready-to-use applications than any other platform. Most office software preinstalled with a free license (GPL). Many other Open Source Software applications (over 20,000) are already supplied and automatically installed by the larger Linux distributions.

Because of the complexity of the business problems they need to solve, many organisations select Linux as their business platform so they can choose from this wide array of solutions. In addition to supporting this existing business application market, Linux is also leading the charge to XML Web services.

Costs and License Fees

As PCs have gotten cheaper, the proportional cost of installed Microsoft Windows has climbed sharply. You can obtain Linux free from magazine cover disks or buy a professionally prepared distribution and maybe a good book to assist, which costs still less than the going rate for Microsoft Windows.

A single Linux distribution can be installed on many desktops without the need for extra licenses. This allows for further cost savings in larger installations.