Getting Linux Support

Posted on January 4, 2008
Filed Under Open Source | Leave a Comment

One of the many lines of FUD which often appear in the press and on blogs is that you can not get good Linux support. These sort of articles are designed to reduce confidence in Linux and hinder the deployment of Linux, especially in a commercial environment.

However with a bit of common sense, it does not take much to show that this argument does hold much weight.

Linux distributions do not make money by selling “product” or Linux licenses. So how do they make money ? Why is IBM investing billions of dollars into Linux?

They make money buy selling support and consultancy. There are a large amount of companies of varying sizes
which can provide the support required. My own company Trenchant Systems has given needed support for several companies which depend on Linux as part of their revenue generation machinery.

IBM, Redhat, Novell and now even oracle will provide you with Linux support on a subscription terms.

Linux support is in abundance, don’t be a victim to FUD. Think it through and get the facts for yourself.

Trenchant Systems in 2008

Posted on January 1, 2008
Filed Under IT & Business | 1 Comment

trench·ant [ trénchənt ]

adjective Definition:

searching: having keenness and forcefulness and penetration in thought, expression,
or intellect; "searching insights"; "trenchant criticism" hard-hitting: characterized by or full of force and vigour;
"a hard-hitting expose"; "a trenchant argument"

If the general economic forecast for 2008 is correct, then we are in for a challenging year. The media are reporting the reduction of house prices, rising inflation, the credit crunch reducing the amount of funding available. While these things may occur, I’m not going to add to frenzy of doom sayers. I’m a great believer of self fulfilling prophecy, and I’m going to highlight something different. One of the hardest things to do is to change the way you think. This is because we have all been programmed by our environment to respond in certain ways. I want to show you something different.

We should listen to these warnings of incoming economic bad weather and start preparation. The normal response is to cut investment, abandon projects, stop employment and hide under a rock until the sun comes out again. However this behavior actually causes the very thing we fear, economic downturn.

Instead, we should take these warnings of indication that what we have been doing over the past few years, will no longer work, what we need to do is find new ways of achieving our goals. As an example lets look at the music industry. Record labels saw the forecast of the incoming Digital MP3 music format and internet downloads. They rightly feared that this would impact on their sales and they expended huge amounts of money and energy to try and stamp it out. While they we trying to stamp it out, Apple computers were embracing it and quietly innovating and looking for ways to exploit the Ipod. They now practically control most of the internet downloads via Itunes. The music industry now have to approach Apple to be included in this distribution system.

It still astounds me that a computer manufacturer could create and control a music distribution system before the music industry. If the music industry realised that what had worked in the past, will no longer work in the future, and looked for new ways to achieve the same goals. Things may be drastically different today.

The point to take away after reading this is that you need to innovate. Be aware of your thinking and be willing to make changes and avoid the pre-programmed responses.

This is the core ethos of the company I founded, Trenchant Systems ltd. I set-up Trenchant Systems to help business managers focus on using Information Technology to meet business goals. Information Technology is often the most expensive operational cost, second only to payroll. We also have the problem where even after the expenditure, Your IT solutions may not be actually be performing in the way you need. Trenchant Systems can help you turn this around by making your systems more business focused, and at the same time look for ways to reduce your operational costs.

We also get you to focus on the goals of your business rather than IT products. I often say “People buy drills not because they like buying drills, they buy drills because they need to hang a picture, or install a light fitting. It’s all about the requirement, rather than the product.”

I approach this by doing the following:

Establishing your business goals and time constraints.
What your biggest problem areas are.
Evaluating the use of Open Source technology
Determining your criteria for success.

After we been through these activities , you should have an IT infrastructure which is brings more benefits to your business, and more cost effective.

By innovating and changing your thinking, it is possible to reach your business goals despite some of the economic pressures. So don’t change your goals, change how you achieve them.

How important is Email to you ?

Posted on December 29, 2007
Filed Under IT & Business | Leave a Comment

How important is email to you? Is it a convenience, or a vital part of your business ? Over the years email has become one of the most important applications on the internet. We now use it to send money , manage projects or just keep in touch with our families.

We expect near instantaneous replies to our email, and we expect to store hundreds of messages within folders categorised with tags. We also expect to have access to our email where ever we travel, or even while on the move.

With the advances in internet technology and mobile communications, this is now possible. However, there are some risks involved, which you should be aware of before using these solutions. One of the most useful, is the use of wireless internet connections in airports, hotels and even fast food restaurants. However without some pre-cautions, your email account can be compromised, allowing people to send spam from your account, and to intercept your messages.

When your computer sends or receives email it sends authentication details to your email server using clear visible text. This is like posting a postcard with your credit card details and your PIN written on the back. When using external networks such as a internet café or wireless connection,unlike your home or office network , these networks are public. There is a risk that your authentication details are captured by fellow users, or by the actual provider of the internet connection.

A number of solutions exist to minimise these risks. By combining these solutions you can greatly increase the security of your email. To safeguard your authentication details, configure your computer to use encryption, in particular TLS “Transport Layer Security”. Most email programs like Microsoft Outlook or Mozilla Thunderbird support this type of authentication. TLS is basically the email equivalent of the secure padlock you see in your browser when you are shopping on-line.

Don’t be afraid to use mobile email, it is extremely convenient. However , if you make yourself aware of the risks, and take steps to manage them, you can use these services with confidence.

What is open source software ?

Posted on December 22, 2007
Filed Under Open Source | Leave a Comment

Running a business is an extremely challenging, but rewarding activity. To make things easier, most business’s have some form of computerised information systems. These systems record information which is naturally created , emails, products, customers and financial transactions.

Once you have selected the software solution you require, you will most likely be sold a software license. This gives you the right to use the software and outlines the terms of use. Often this will involve a limit on the number of users. The software may even be sold based on yearly subscription fee. The functionality of the software is also affected by the license. Generally the more you pay for the license, the more functionality the software will have.

It can be hard at times to find the right license for your size business. You could face a large upgrade fee once your business reaches a certain size, and has outgrown the license. You may be forced to purchase a more expensive oversize solution to give you room to grow. Also bear in mind, software license violations can incur large fines or even a prison sentence.

An alternative licensing model is available. It is called open source or General Public License. This allows you to use the software, and you even get the blueprints so you can modify it .No expensive license fees, no restriction in functionality or number of computers. Open source software is free to buy, and you have increased freedom in how it is used.

This makes the software very solution focused rather than product focused, it’s all about getting the job done. However many people are suspicious of things that are free. Have no fear, although open source is free to get hold of, if you require professional installation and support this does have costs involved. However your overall costs could be greatly reduced. Even the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, has pledged to save £600 Million of Taxpayers money by using open source software in government. Perhaps you could do the same .

After all, no can go to jail for installing open source software

Business technology optimization

Posted on April 18, 2007
Filed Under IT & Business | Leave a Comment

In some ways, running a successful business has become a lot harder than say 10 years ago. We are all taking advantage of the opportunities presented to us by the global market, and we also have to deal with the disadvantages, Competition is fiercer and margins are a lot tighter. Business owners have to manage costs more effectively and find innovative ways to operate. Innovation and experimentation are key enablers for any business.

Information Technology was used in the past to gain an advantage over competitors who were still struggling to process information, and were still following manual paper based procedures. Today, Information Technology systems are prevalent in businesses of all sizes. This means the key to obtaining advantage over your competition is not the possessing of Information Technology, but how well you exploit it.

The management of Information technology tends to take a life of it’s own , separate from the core business. Business technology optimization is basically pulling Information technology back into the business and making sure that it is serving the business correctly.

BTO is not complicated, it is basically a back to basics approach to IT management. Every technology purchase or modification has to have a businesses requirement standing firmly behind it.

Every IT professional should view themselves as businesses people, rather than primarily technologists. With this attitude business technology optimization will become second nature.

www.trensys.co.uk

Centos 5.0 Linux has been released

Posted on April 18, 2007
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment

Centos stands for Community ENTerprise Operating System. It is a Linux distribution based on the Source RPM’s of Redhat Enterprise. It has the same functionality as Redhat enterprise, but does not include some of the Redhat Specific support tools.

The Centos Team work hard making this distro comply with Redhat’s redistribution policy by re-branding and removing Redhat tools. Updates are also provided using an update mechanism similar to Redhat network. I actually find the Centos update network better due to it’s more intelligent use of local mirrors.

Centos does not currently have an official commercial support structure, however this is why it came into existence. Some solutions do not actually need ongoing paid subscription. If you do, use Redhat Enterprise.

This does not mean that Centos does not have support. It is supported by a number of people ( such as myself, and a number of resources on the internet

If you are looking for a stable Linux platform to place the a growing number of Redhat certified applications, consider centos.

http://www.centos.org/

What is open source ?

Posted on April 3, 2007
Filed Under Open Source | 1 Comment

It can be hard at times to find the right license for your size business. You could face a large upgrade fee once your business reaches a certain size, and has outgrown the licence. You may be forced to purchase a more expensive oversize solution to give you room to grow. Also bear in mind, software license violations can incur large fines or even a prison sentence.

Facing the consequences of using illegal software
Schools face software licensing clampdown

An alternative licensing model is available. It is called open source or General Public License. This allows you to use the software, and you even get the blueprints so you can modify it .No expensive licence fees, no restriction in functionality or number of computers. Open source software is free to buy, and you have increased freedom in how it is used.

This makes the software very solution focused rather than product focused, it’s all about getting the job done. However many people are suspicious of things that are free. Have no fear, although open source is free to get hold of, if you require professional installation and support this does have costs involved. However your overall costs could be greatly reduced. Even the Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, has pledged to save £600 Million of Taxpayers money by using open source software in government. Perhaps you could do the same .

After all, no can go to jail for installing open source software.

Linux cuts Kent Police system costs by 90%

Posted on February 2, 2007
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment

Linux has been used to afford scalability for the Kent police. One of their key operation applications has been migrated to Linux. Read the full article below

Computer Weekly article, How kent Police cut costs by using Linux

China Fuels Economic growth with Linux

Posted on January 29, 2007
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment

Just spotted this report on itwire.com which indicates that China is using Linux to help expand its Information technology industry. They have even created their own CPU to run their own distribution of Linux named “RedFlag”.

http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/9003/1090/

EC: Reports that Open Source is key to competitiveness

Posted on January 29, 2007
Filed Under News | Leave a Comment

A report actioned by the European Commission, and carried out by the United Nations University has concluded that Open Source Software is key to competitiveness. The report highlights the advantages that Open Source Software can provide to SME’s.

It also reports that by 2010, 32% of all IT related services will relate to Open Source activities and this will contribute 4% of European GDP.

This is a long document, but makes interesting reading

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/ict/policy/doc/2006-11-20-flossimpact.pdf

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