Linux in the Boardroom: How Linux is Changing Corporate Computing and What Executives Need to Know and Do About it - Hardcover

Smith, Mark S. A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 097492895X ISBN 13: 9780974928951

Publisher: Outsource Channel Executives, Inc, 2004

Synopsis

Who needs a book about a freely down-loadable computer operating system?

If you manage a company or if you’re a part of an Information Technology (IT) decision-making team, then you need to understand the impact of Linux on your organization, your industry, and your competition.

If you’re like most executives, you’re part of a technology purchasing committee. Making computer technology decisions has never been easy. You have to slog through the marketing hype and computer jargon to separate the sales-copy promises from the software reality.

In this quick-reading book, business author and engineer Mark S. A. Smith de-mystifies the lingo and discusses what you need to know about Linux to make informed business decisions. With the ideas in this book, you'll know what questions to ask and what issues to examine when your IT director considers Linux for your company.

If you’re a CEO, COO, President, or Owner – How is Linux good for your opera-tion? What does it mean to your operation and your customers? If it’s going to give you an edge in the market, exactly how is that going to happen? How do you direct the people who will lead the project?

If you’re a CFO or VP of Finance – Is Linux good for corporate compliance and your cash flow? Where does it fit into current regu-lations?

If you’re a CIO, CTO, or IT Manager – Is Linux good for your computing infrastructure? How do you evaluate Linux? What should you look for in a Linux vendor? What about security?

This book was written with the non-technical manager in mind; it won’t dig very deep into the technology. So, even if you’re an executive with limited technical background, this book will guide you on the questions to ask and the issues to examine when your technology team considers Linux for your company.

About this title

About the Author

Mark S. A. Smith is an electrical engineer, computer programmer, hardware salesman, and software marketer who now works with clients to get more business out of their distribution channels.

After 22 years of working in and with high-tech sales and marketing channels, Mark identified that channel success depended on building value, driving demand, forming a powerful network, and protecting profits.

Mark focuses on how to rapidly create sound business decisions in a fast-paced business world. He delivers innovative, unconventional strategies for entrepreneurial thinkers, marketing managers, and sales professionals. Mark’s an expert in creating instantly implementable tactics to achieve real business success.

Recognized by his peers, Mark is a full member of the Society for the Advancement of Consulting. Membership requires stringent proof of performance, expertise, and excellence in consulting. A veteran professional speaker, he is past president of the National Speakers Association, Colorado chapter.

He co-authored Guerrilla Trade Show Selling, Guerrilla Teleselling, and Guerrilla Negotiating with Guerrilla Marketing author, Jay Conrad Levinson, and Guerrilla Selling co-author, Orvel Ray Wilson.

He co-created the wildly successful Executive Assessment business case creation tool for IBM, writing approximately 70 product-specific versions for IBM’s major software brands, including DB2®, WebSphere®, Lotus®, Tivoli®, and Start Now™.

Today he’s president of Outsource Channel Executives, Inc, an organization that helps companies build sales channels and get more out the channels they have now. By uniquely combining product knowledge with sales and marketing skills, the company creates programs that instill excitement and confidence in people who have to sell.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction

Who needs a book about a freely down-loadable computer operating system? If you manage a company or if you re a part of an Information Technology (IT) decision-making team, then you need to understand the impact of Linux on your organization, your industry, and your competition.

The Executive and the Technology Committee

If you re like most executives, you re part of a technology purchasing committee. Making computer technology decisions has never been easy. You have to slog through the marketing hype and computer jargon to separate the sales-copy promises from the software reality. I remember an old saw from my software-selling days: "The difference between a used-car salesman and a software salesman is that the car salesman knows when he s lying."

If you re going to make smart decisions, you need to get answers to these questions:

If you re a CEO, COO, President, or Owner How is Linux good for your operation? What does it mean to your operation and your customers? If it s going to give you an edge in the market, exactly how is that going to happen? How do you direct the people who will lead the project?

If you re a CFO or VP of Finance Is Linux good for corporate compliance and your cash flow? Where does it fit into current regulations?

If you re a CIO, CTO, or IT Manager Is Linux good for your computing infrastructure? How do you evaluate Linux? What should you look for in a Linux vendor? What about security?

This book was written with the non-technical manager in mind; it won t dig very deep into the technology. So, even if you re an executive with limited technical background, this book will guide you on the questions to ask and the issues to examine when your technology team considers Linux for your company.

A Disclosure

Quite frankly, this book is pro-Linux. I wrote it to help speed the adoption of Linux by presenting its benefits and discussing adoption processes in a way that executives, like you, can understand. I believe that if you re looking for ways to improve your business productivity or decrease your information technology expenses, then you should consider Linux as a part of your business strategy.

I ll discuss where I think Linux has limitations. No single software choice can satisfy all of your computing needs. Optimizing your operation means having choices and making educated decisions. For most businesses with more than 50 employees, Linux should be considered for at least some of the computing tasks.

The Moving Target

The Linux market is moving so fast, that it s highly probable that by the time this book is in your hands, details have changed. Yet the fundamental business-decision drivers won t change for several years, if not a decade.

The appendix lists Web sites where you can get the latest information on Linux and I recommend that you contact the leading manufacturers to get the latest information about their products and business solutions.

A Word of Advice

For executives, understanding whether or not Linux is a suitable choice is made far more difficult by its passionate proponents and bitter critics.

Being influenced by a single manufacturer s sales rep results in myopic solutions and carries a high probability of less-than optimal results. I recommend that you select a competent, independent technology reseller who offers a range of products from a variety of software vendors to be a part of your technology advisory team.

How to Read This Book

Start by scanning the first few chapters, stopping at the subheadings that catch your eye.

Then review the case study that best matches your industry or your technology situation.

Finally, consider the assessment questions on page 60 to help explore the issues with your technology committee.

Edition details

• Publisher: Outsource Channel Executives, Inc
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 097492895X
• ISBN 13: 9780974928951
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 128