SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10

SUSE® Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 is the compelling alternative to Windows Vista and is available for just US$50. Pricing for Windows Vista is not only more complex, but it's also considerably higher, as shown here.

	SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10	Windows Vista Business	Windows Vista Ultimate
License / Subscription Fee	US$50	US$299	US$319
Maintenance (per year)	Included in subscription fee	US$87 (29% of license)	US$93 (29% of license)
Total (one year)	US$50	US$386	US$412
Total (three years)	US$125	US$559	US$598

Source: Microsoft and Novell, May 2008 ¹

"For every $1 spent on Microsoft's new operating system, businesses and consumers will spend $9.33 on hardware, $5.35 on software, and $3.93 on service providers."

Boston Globe
January 22, 2007

When you consider the additional costs of an office suite, the difference becomes even more dramatic. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop includes OpenOffice.org Novell Edition at no additional cost. OpenOffice.org Novell Edition is the award-winning office suite that comes with word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, drawing, and database applications–all for free. It boasts outstanding compatibility with Microsoft Office files, allowing users to easily read and edit Microsoft Office documents and save them in either Microsoft Office or open standard OpenOffice.org formats.

The cost of Microsoft Office makes it even more difficult to justify buying Windows Vista. Microsoft Office Professional 2007 costs $499 per user while Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 costs an eye-popping $679 per user ². The combined license costs for Windows Vista Business Edition and Microsoft Office Professional 2007 approaches $800 per user, while Windows Vista Ultimate with Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 reaches a whopping $998 per user. With SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, you receive over 90% of the functionality of Vista and Office for less than 10% of the price.

However, buying Microsoft Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 along with maintenance, is not the end of your costs. You will almost certainly have to buy new hardware to run some of Windows Vista's new features (such as Aero Glass). And if you have not upgraded your hardware in the past year, you may need to buy new hardware just to run Windows Vista, even without Aero Glass. ³

Finally, you should consider the cost of managing Vista environments with Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. With a mere 25 desktops, the management software cost reaches $6,055:

• $3,999 for a Windows Server 2003 license to manage 25 Vista desktops (Windows Server + 25 Client Access Licenses) ⁴
• $2,056 for a SMS 2003 license to manage 25 Vista desktops (SMS + 25 Client Management Licenses) ⁴

Conversely, ZENworks® Linux Management–offering comparable functionality–costs only $69 per user, or $1,725 for 25 users. That's a 70% savings from the comparable Windows solution. ⁵

When you add it all up–Vista and Office licenses, Vista maintenance, Windows Server and SMS licenses, client access and client management licenses, and possibly new hardware–the total cost of owning Windows Vista becomes a crushing burden on organizations seeking to do more with their limited IT budgets. SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell is the compelling desktop alternative, offering a lower cost platform with greater security, usability, and flexibility.

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Notes:
¹ http://www.novell.com/products/desktop/howtobuy.html,
   http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/editions/business.mspx,
   http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/editions/ultimate.mspx,
   http://www.itjungle.com/two/two071107-story01.html

² http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/products/FX101754511033.aspx

³ http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2068351,00.asp

⁴ http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/howtobuy/licensing/pricing.mspx and    http://www.microsoft.com/smserver/howtobuy/default.mspx

⁵ http://www.novell.com/products/zenworks/linuxmanagement/howtobuy.html

Take a Closer Look

• Use the Reviewers Guide to guide your exploration of all the features of SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in greater detail.
• Want to see SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop in action? Check out the product presentation and demos.

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