Pick a Server Winner
Red Hat, Inc.'s server software clearly presents a more cost-effective solution for basic server and network operations at ACME, provided that there are no conflicting operating system-specific needs. However, considering that Linux is flexible enough to be easily integrated into a mixed-platform environment and does not have to be deployed as a total solution, ACME can derive a greater return on its initial software investment. This investment can be leveraged even more over the longer term, as Linux and its host of software is available in source code form. Had ACME invested in a proprietary software solution only five years ago (such as Windows 95SE and Windows NT), the company would be forced to upgrade, re-license, purchase new software, or pursue other forms of support outside official channels for software no longer supported or distributed by Microsoft. Although Red Hat, Inc. has recently imposed term limits on its support of specific versions of its Linux distributions, these distributions can easily be fixed or upgraded at little cost due to the open source nature of the software.