This 'open source' operating system is rapidly gaining popularity and it isn't difficult to see why. There is no licence fee for using open source software, no matter how many computers it is installed on or users there are. It is free!
	As the name implies, the underlying source code of open source software is freely available for anyone to inspect or modify. For popular applications this often means that new and innovative features become available more quickly than they do in traditional commercial software. Also, faults and bugs tend to be noticed and corrected far more speedily, resulting in reliable high quality software. Read on to see how you could benefit.
	File and Print Services: The foundation of most modern working environments; providing accessible, yet secure storage of your data. The Linux operating system is commonly paired with the widely acclaimed Samba software ( also open source ) to create a file and print server for workstations running Microsoft's Windows. Generally considered more reliable than an equivalent Microsoft solution, it is certainly more cost effective due to the lack of per user ( or any ) licence fees. Samba can be used alone or it can take part in an existing Microsoft network. The perfect low cost answer when you need more storage space.
	E-mail and Web Serving: With its Unix like design, Linux excels in applications involving the Internet, large or small. E-mail is no exception. There exists a wide range of open source and commercial software that can turn a Linux server into a complete e-mail solution. The open source Apache web server is the mostly widely used on the Internet, according to Netcraft's monthly surveys. Alone or coupled with open source tools like PHP, Perl and PostgreSQL, it forms the ideal basis for publishing your web site, whether to the whole world or just your workers. Contact Ziggurat Communications to learn more.
	Everything? While not so common, there are many people who rely on Linux and open source software for all their computing needs. It is certainly possible to use open source tools for the common business tasks like word processing, e-mail, web browsing and spreadsheet calculations. Modern graphical interfaces like KDE mean that users more used to Windows will not feel lost. Remember, all this software costs nothing, it could well be worth your while to try it out.
	Next Steps: If you would like to give open source software a try or just have a chat about how it may fit into your organisation, call us on the number at the top of this page or visit the Contact page and leave a message for us and we'll be in touch shortly.