Yankee Linux findings rigged too

Recent survey findings by the Yankee Group, which warn mid-sized and large organisations against moving from Windows to Linux, have come under fire from open source groups. It is the latest in a series of "independent" surveys commissioned by Microsoft to attract vehement protest.

The survey stated that it would be "prohibitively expensive, extremely complex and time consuming" for most such organisations to "rip and replace" Windows, and that such an exercise furthermore "would not provide any tangible business gains".

Critics call for a fairer assessment. Wayne de Nobrega, MD of Technology Concepts, a South African IT outsourcing firm, says the survey "makes use of a Microsoft base of people and typifies how market research [can be] manipulated by companies to suit their own needs".

"I wish research organisations would take on a more independent role, or qualify what they have done, rather than look at who foots the bill," he says. "Yankee is one of the big names. People look at this and they believe what is said when they see the names involved. You shouldn`t have to question this sort of thing, but it just proves again that you cannot trust any research without looking at it carefully."

James Thomas, Novell SA new business development director, speaks in his personal capacity when he says studies such as the Yankee Group report "focus, in my view, on the incorrect expectation that open source software is free, as in no cost. It actually provides freedom of choice."

Thomas says the first thing to realise is that the software is not free, but more cost effective. "Secondly, it gives one the flexibility of deciding which hardware platform to use, which groups of users should be migrated, what applications to use and so forth, all adding to a user`s bargaining power with vendors." Thomas says the cost of managing desktops and servers thus migrated is comparable to Windows management costs. "If you expect it to be free, then you will be disappointed. If your expectations are to be more cost-effective and have more choice, then you have the right expectations. These cost comparisons often harp on management costs of Linux as though Windows has none."

The Yankee Group surveyed 1000 IT administrators and "C-level executives" (CEOs, CIOs and the like), in association with Sunbelt Software, a Windows NT/2000/XP tools provider. It reportedly failed to mention the connection with the Microsoft partner, or that the respondents reportedly came from Sunbelt`s W2knews newsletter audience. Sunbelt itself trumpeted its involvement in W2Knews.

The Sydney Morning Herald quotes Laura Didio from the Yankee Group in defence of the survey methodology. Didio mentions in-depth interviews with 24 high level administrators and executives. "In order to provide the most balanced and objective coverage, I interviewed several staunch Linux proponents and I chronicle their deployment experiences (along with Windows and Unix users) in Part 2 of my report which focuses on case studies."

Didio said though Sunbelt had hosted the survey, it "did not sponsor the survey in the way I think you mean." She also denied that the poll was manipulated, but conceded that online polls without proper controls could be manipulated. Sunbelt had "tracking and authentication software in place and is able trace TCP/IP addresses and weed out duplicate responses - or so-called attempts `to stuff the ballot box` or `manipulate the data`," she said. Didio said she stood by survey and the methodology, saying it had given all platforms equal weight.

In January, Microsoft embarked on a campaign, called "Get the Facts" to counter the threat posed by Linux. As its centrepiece it uses a commissioned IDC report to claim that in most scenarios Microsoft`s platforms are cheaper to own and operate than Linux, because of lower staffing costs.

But one of the study`s authors claimed the results were rigged. IDC analyst Dan Kusnetzky said scenarios were selected that "would inevitably be more costly using Linux". Microsoft insists that it didn`t rig the contest and chose the most popular uses for the software. A Meta Group study and a Giga Research study bring up the balance of Microsoft`s campaign.

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