Managing Linux Desktops in the Enterprise

When considering whether to use or expand Linux desktops within a corporate environment, many IT managers will need to grapple with their enterprise requirements and the relative ability of easily integrating Linux desktops to their existing IT environment from an infrastructure and applications perspective. It's not always an easy undertaking trying to be the pioneer of innovative technology because you end up being the first one dealing with technical and operational issues that no one else has faced before, which is why some IT managers take the path of least resistance. They wait until someone else has become the guinea pig before them, trying out the new technology. When there is significant evidence of other enterprises successfully using the new technology that is when they jump on the bandwagon to start deploying it. It's no different with Linux desktops.

First, I'm going to address some of the reasons that may hold some IT managers back from adopting Linux desktops in the enterprises. The first reason is obtaining adequate technical support for Linux desktops. Some IT managers may fear that since most of the world is familiar with Windows desktops as the corporate standard, they will be unable to staff their desktop support crew with the required Linux expertise. The second reason is integration with their IT corporate application and infrastructure environment. They may be afraid that the current applications and networking tools they use to manage their daily operations may be severely impacted by technical incompatibilities with the Linux desktop. The third reason is familiarity breeds laziness. Because they are more familiar with the Windows desktop environment, they are afraid to try something new which they have no experience in. Also, they do not want to put in effort in researching alternatives when daily operations seem to be working fine.

Let's start by addressing these concerns. If you are running an IT Shop, chances are strong that you actually do know what Linux is. You're probably used to supporting it on the server side for web applications, content management systems or databases. However, it was probably a long shot for you to even consider using Linux on the desktop, considering how firmly entrenched Windows desktops were with Windows applications such as Outlook, MS Access, MS Office, SharePoint and ERP systems. You pretty much were in a situation where you were locked into the Microsoft ecosystem of apps and infrastructure products. However, in case, you haven't noticed the IT landscape has been changing quite dramatically over the years. What you don't realize is if you set up your IT corporate environment to more open and flexible IT standards, you don't have to be locked into the Microsoft ecosystem anymore. You can choose to limit your portfolio of Microsoft products to just what you truly need and value in your enterprise and the rest you can replace with open source solutions like Linux on the desktop.  As for technical support, Linux is being taught in more universities to meet the staffing demand on the server side so you can rest assured, the workforce of tomorrow will be filled with young grads who are 'Linux knowledgeable'.  In terms of commercial support, there are Linux vendors and consultants today who will provide you with the expertise to help you support your enterprise.  The Linux Friendly Vendors tab of this site lists some of these vendors.  I will be covering more on this subject in a later post.

How is the IT landscape changing? Look at what consumers value most for entertainment and personal use: tablets and smartphones. The sales of those two devices are rapidly outpacing the sales of desktop laptops and PC's. What is the most prevalent OS in those 2 devices? It's Android, a hybrid OS, with a Java front-end on a Linux kernel. With workers asking their corporate IT administrators to support their device of choice aka BYOD, the pressure is on to support cross-platform devices. Also, the emergence of cloud computing has driven the trend for applications to go from native on the desktop to a web app served from the clouds, making it no longer a requirement to be tied down to a Microsoft OS platform on the client side. This also addresses the second concern of integrating with corporate applications and infrastructure.

If you make it company policy to produce and maintain documents in open formats like PDF, XML and ODF, which can be consumed by any device regardless of platform, you are no longer limited by your Office application formats such as DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSW, PPT, etc. If you are working with entities outside your company, you will then be able to share, exchange and edit documents without worrying about the different platforms they were created or revised on. This was an important lesson learned from the City of Munich's successful Linux desktop deployment. Also, if your ERP systems are now web applications either in PHP, JAVA or .NET, make sure you test thoroughly how they will run on your Linux distro of choice and browser of choice. That's already half the battle of your decision to either go with Linux on the desktop or not.

As for the third reason of familiarity breeding laziness as opposed to contempt, being an IT manager, you can ill afford to sit on your laurels forever. The IT landscape is changing as we speak and your users are going to become even more demanding when they see that other enterprises are successfully meeting their own end user requests for BYOD. You are going to be forced eventually to not just support Windows desktops, but to create applications enabled by flexible infrastructure, allowing users to consume and work on those applications anytime, anywhere, any location and on any device. That's quite a tall order for any IT manager. But lucky for you, that's where VDI comes into play.

I am not going to expound in great detail about VDI on this particular post. I will reserve that discussion for a later post. All that you need to know is that the concept of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure will enable you, as an IT manager, to meet that requirement from end users to consume and work on applications anytime, anywhere, any location and on any device.  For reference, take a look at this example.  A university in Japan with a specific requirement to support and access both Linux and Windows desktops for professors and students was successfully documented using a VDI solution from a company called Virtual Bridges. The product they used was called VERGE. Keep in mind there are also other VDI vendors, with one of the more well-known being VMWare.

Throughout the years, there have been attempts by enterprises around the world to use Linux desktops within their corporate environment. Some have encountered success while others have ended in failure or mixed results. If you are an IT manager who is seriously considering using Linux on the desktop environment, you need to learn from the mistakes and successes of others who tried it before you. More importantly, you need to do your own due diligence. That means you will need to come up with a business case to help you decide whether it's the right fit for your organization and not just because everyone else is doing it.  It's very easy to get sidetracked by the promise of Linux openness and flexibility.  After all, there are many benefits to expanding the Linux desktop, mostly due to IT purchasing flexibility, reduced licensing and support costs, improved security and improved systems administration tasks.  However, before any of those benefits can be realized, one most execute all the important steps that will lead to a successful outcome, which includes creating a suitable business case, garnering corporate stakeholder support and producing a rock solid implementation and change management plan.  These topics and more will be discussed in later posts if you subscribe to this site.

Buying a Laptop for Linux Use

Now that Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) has replaced the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) on most new laptops these days, especially the ones with Windows 8 on it, it's time to educate a Linux user on what they should be considering when in the market for a new laptop.  What this means is you won't be able to easily install Linux on PC's with UEFI on them unless it's one of the three Linux distros which supports UEFI.

You have five options:

1.  Pick a Linux distro which supports UEFI. - As of this posting, there are only three:  Fedora 18, openSuSe 12.3 and Ubuntu 12.10.  However, just because you pick one of those 3 doesn't meant it's guaranteed to work on all UEFI laptops.  You need to pick a Manufacturer which allows those 3 distros to be installed on it.  I've read that Samsung's UEFI boot options have caused their laptops to be inoperable so you might want to choose a different laptop manufacturer.

2.  Disable Secure Boot on your UEFI PC. - To install Linux distros, other than Fedora 18, openSuSe 12.3 and Ubuntu 12.10, you "may" be able to disable  the Secure Boot option on UEFI and enable their installation on your UEFI laptop.  The best thing to do if you are going with this approach is to find out directly from the manufacturer of your laptop, how to disable Secure Boot on UEFI.  That is, if they give you the option to.   Not all manufacturers will allow you to do this.  Try installing the Linux distro you've selected after you've disabled Secure Boot.  Some distributions like Ubuntu will have instructions on how to deal with Secure Boot on UEFI.  Others may not so be aware of this before you go through all the work of trying this approach.

3.  Buy a Non-OS laptop. - Instead of dealing with the hassle of UEFI, you can buy a laptop with no OS installed from these vendors.  Then install your Linux distro of choice on it.

4.  Buy a laptop with Linux pre-installed. - Instead of dealing with the hassle of UEFI, you can have the vendor install your Linux distro choice on the laptop of your choice.  See the Linux Friendly Vendors tab on this site.

5.  Buy a Chromebook and install Linux on it. - You can install a Linux distro in a dual boot situation with Chrome OS on a Chromebook.  Or you can install your chosen Linux distro to replace Chrome OS.

Obviously, there are pros and cons with each method above.  It depends what you are using it for and what you are willing to pay in additional costs for the convenience of ease of use.  If you are an average user and do not want to deal with the hassle of researching and preparing a laptop for Linux use, you are better off buying Linux pre-installed even if it costs slightly more than a Windows 8 laptop.  Over time, you will accrue the benefits of using Linux over Windows, when you don't have to deal with annual anti-virus licenses or additional licenses for Office or other Windows compatible software.  You will also no longer need to defrag your laptop.  If you are not using your laptop for Development, Graphic Design or CPU intensive processing and just want to get the cheapest laptop possible with Linux on it, you should consider buying a Chromebook and installing Linux on it.  If you are a Developer, a Graphic Designer or Video Producer and you don't mind doing some extra "prep" work yourself, consider options 1-3.  However, I think option 2 should be the last resort for everyone, considering it requires the most research.