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GNU/Linux

Solutions

GNU/Linux is a cost effective solution for firewalls. Open Mutual has had experience in installing Censornet for managed contented filtering as well as firewalling. 

GNU/Linux also functions as a reliable Database, Web, File and Print server in preference to using Microsoft Windows based servers especially in small businesses where money spent on licensing can be better spent elsewhere. 

The question of support is identical is the answer is that another organisation does the support and there is no difference between choosing commodity Windows or Unix support.

 Adoption

We'll be the first to admit that GNU/Linux distributions can work well when they work but can fail badly for one very simple reason: hardware support.

The fix is easy - in all cases that we have seen it would take almost negligible effort on the part of hardware manufacturers to help the community implement community-supported drivers for GNU/Linux distributions.

The most cost effective strategy for businesses is to not have the latest hardware but to choose hardware that has been out for a few months by which time it will have been reviewed for its reliability and quality, it will have dropped in price and, more importantly, the open source drivers will have caught up. Using this strategy you save on hardware costs, save on licensing and have a less risky decision to make in chosing the hardware.