Sun Microsystems, together with RPC Data, is hosting a breakfast seminar that will reveal the value of Linux and open source to Cape Town IT professionals.
"Linux and open source software are a phenomenon rapidly becoming a powerful presence in the high-technology industry," says Brandon McDonald, managing director of RPC Data South Africa.
"While the business concepts associated with Linux and open source are still quite new, business managers are rapidly discovering that they cannot ignore the value that these technologies offer," he adds.
"In a market economy, new business concepts such as Linux and open source must be proven before organisations begin to leverage them for competitive advantage. Once such new concepts are proven to deliver value, those that ignore them will invariably lose. Astute organisations that observe and apply new opportunities will take business from those who reject change," McDonald states.
He notes that the Linux operating system is now more than 10 years old, while the open source movement, which started 'free' software, has been in existence for nearly 20 years. "It's apparent, therefore, that these technologies are not going away, and businesses need to deal with these new realities," he says.
A staunch open source advocate, Sun Microsystems has announced the imminent release of its Sun Java Desktop System, an affordable comprehensive, simple to use and secure enterprise-grade desktop solution.
The open source alternative desktop operating system can reduce the total cost of acquisition by up to 75% rather than upgrading to the latest versions of Office and Windows, while reducing the total cost of operating their Windows desktop environment by up to 25%.
Dumisani Mtoba, senior systems engineer at Sun Microsystems SA, says CIOs owe it to their organisations to find a desktop computing strategy that balances cost of ownership, workforce productivity and important security considerations. "They must also replace their operating systems and office productivity suites faster and more cost-effectively than ever," he says.
"The desktop alternative offers a new, yet familiar desktop operating platform based on Linux and customers save substantially on licensing fees, training and helpdesk costs, and decrease the cost and time of administration through interoperability with existing environments," he says.
The event is to take place on Friday, 7 November at the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront.
To register for the event, please contact Faieka Kader on (021) 402-1180 or faieka.kader@rpcdata.co.za.
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Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision -- "The Network Is The Computer" -- has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc (Nasdaq: SUNW) to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that make the Net work. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.sun.com.
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