Linux inches forward

[bouncingwilf]

Interesting item in techweekeurope regarding Linux uptake ( or possible more realistically lack of MS/Oracle etc uptake.

http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/news/barclays-cloud-open-source-103349?ModPagespeed=noscript

Bouncingwilf

[sffvba[e0rt]

They are saving so much they are getting staff ipads to improve the customer experience...


404

[lz1dsb]

They are saving so much they are getting staff ipads to improve the customer experience...


404
Yeahh... I just read that. LOL :lolflag: How exactly this could improve customer experience?

[Mikeb85]

Yeahh... I just read that. LOL :lolflag: How exactly this could improve customer experience?

There's not alot of choices when it comes to real Linux tablets, alot of Android tablets are subpar (look at reviews of the Nexus 10), and iPads do have a nice look and feel (which matters in customer service). Besides, likely all they're going to do with them is run a custom app anyway.

Linux is great for many things, and iPads are great for their specific niche.

Also, it's not particularly surprising. Many financial organizations, especially hedge funds and proprietary trading firms, run on Linux. Even my broker offers Linux-based trading tools... When all you run is proprietary apps made in-house, Linux makes a lot of sense.

[ugm6hr]

Linux is great for many things, and iPads are great for their specific niche.

Indeed. Think about customer service agents in branch who can help people without the need of a pen, desk or phone.

They can even act as stationary (i.e. installed in an arcade box) internet kiosks at wifi connected locations (Kuala Lumpur airport being an example).

This kind of approach may eventually replace actual human customer service, as kiosks have at airport checkin desks etc. Perhaps Barclays are just seeing how people respond to the idea early? Similarly, a phone help desk at a bank was unheard of 20 years ago - now lots of queries are sorted by in-branch phone help. Why not an in-branch internet kiosk?

[bouncingwilf]

My thoughts were not so much on the iPad comments which are trivial in the context of the bigger picture. On one hand you have Microsoft postulating that the true cost of ownership of their systems represent real value whereas a real large Banking corporation has now publically claimed a massive 90% saving in IT costs by avoiding "Commercial" solutions. I suspect that this is not the sort of message MS or Oracle want spread about. I also suspect it would not take that many large global corporations confirming the facts for the impact on various software companies share prices to significant.

Bouncingwilf

[Mikeb85]

My thoughts were not so much on the iPad comments which are trivial in the context of the bigger picture. On one hand you have Microsoft postulating that the true cost of ownership of their systems represent real value whereas a real large Banking corporation has now publically claimed a massive 90% saving in IT costs by avoiding "Commercial" solutions. I suspect that this is not the sort of message MS or Oracle want spread about. I also suspect it would not take that many large global corporations confirming the facts for the impact on various software companies share prices to significant.

Bouncingwilf

Again though, Barclays is not the 'standard' corporation. They bring in enough revenue to be able to manage proprietary home-grown solutions. You'll see this at nearly every hedge fund and proprietary trading firm.

The real issue is whether or not small to medium sized firms (outside of the finance industry) can manage a home-grown solution, if they can't, then buying Linux services from Red Hat, SUSE, Oracle, etc..., can also be an incredibly pricey proposition.

It's the same argument as outsourcing various departments (accounting, customer service, manufacturing) - for some firms outsourcing makes sense, for others doing it themselves saves money.

Hedge funds, investment banks and trading firms make some of the highest profits per employee, so to invest in a high-paid IT team is nothing to them. Not everyone can afford 30-50 developers that each make 100,000 - 250,000+ dollars a year. Some small companies may only have handful of IT guys (some may only have 1 or 2), and don't have the resources to create proprietary solutions, thus they outsource to MS.

It's not really a question of MS or Oracle vs. Open Source, rather a question of buying a ready-made solution vs. creating it yourself.

[ugm6hr]

It's not really a question of MS or Oracle vs. Open Source, rather a question of buying a ready-made solution vs. creating it yourself.

But this bodes well nonetheless.

Another commercial business seeing that open source can underpin in-house software.