By Steve Ranger, 21 March 2005 15:25
NEWS The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has ditched Linux in favour of Microsoft to run its website, after being unable to find an open source package that could fulfil its needs.
RICS wanted to increase the level of personalisation it offered to its 110,000 members by replacing its "brochureware" website, said Richard Carlson, RICS head of business systems.
In the first phase it deployed Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 and Content Management Server 2002, and has now integrated the website with its back-office systems using Microsofts BizTalk Server 2004.
Carlson said that when scoping out the project a year ago it was hard to find a Linux package that could do the job
"We are still not sure if there is a Linux alternative to BizTalk. And BizTalk equals the integration. Ive got to based decisions on business requirements if Linux had offered the solution I needed it would have been considered," he said.
Carlson said if RICS had chosen a Linux package it would have also needed to take on more staff to support the Linux servers, because the existing Linux website was externally hosted and managed.
"It would have meant more complexity for us and more cost. Its the challenge for all IT directors; you are under pressure to deliver more with less money and so if you go off down different skills routes it just adds to the costs of the business. The simpler you can keep it the better," he said.
RICS is already seeing the advantages of the new infrastructure. Carlson said its online book sales have increased by 28 per cent on a year ago and 30,000 members have registered for the site in the last six months.
The organisation is also planning further personalisation including new student and business zones on the site. But Carlson said the door was still open to using Linux in the future if the right technology came along. "I dont have a problem with that," he said.
Comments
There are 9 comments. Join the discussion
1. Eddie Bleasdale
Two blatant unedited and uncritical Microsoft press releases in two days.
Bollocks. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have brought the management of their web site in house and do not have any Linux / Open Source expertise to run it - so the decision is understandable. To allow Silicon to be an uncritical distributor of Microsoft press releases doesn't do Silicon's reputation any good.
2. Rob
Not many of these sort of stories about at the moment, but I can see more coming. This could be a re-occuring theme in regards to Linux take up.
General public still regard it as a techie OS.
3. Dom
Lack of open source package solution is totally incurrate.
They switched cause they didn't find any Linux staff, not because the MS solution was superior. Period
From http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/6732
"I asked if the reason for the switch to a Microsoft solution was because Linux was not up to the task or whether it was that they simply did not understand the system. I was told that it was not that Linux was incapable for the solution, but they were having difficulty getting the staff to manage it. This does not exactly fit in with the "Windows gives us everything Linux could not offer"
Dom
PS: Silicon's credibility would serioulsy be improved if they just took the time to fully research the subjects they publish information on.
4. Dave Howe
Trying to figure out what the story is here. "Microsoft shop insources website and doesn't choose linux".
Erm, ok. the EBiz (XML/EDI) is microsoft's propriatary version of the ebxml "standard" - there is a connector object (third party) that will allow biztalk to "talk" ebxml, but on the whole if you want to talk with a biztalk server, you are talking between microsoft biztalk machines (as non-microsoft implimentations of their propriatary edi/xml don't exist, and ebxml is the open standard everyone else uses)
5. Gonzalo
Again it appears people are misinformed. The leader in this category has to be IBM since they purchased Crossworlds (the benchmark product) a few years back and yes, it will run on Linux. Also there is Jess from Sandia or the freely available Drools.org engine. It is not all that difficult to find a good Linux solution from the plethora of options. On another note: There are other OS platforms besides Linux and Windows.
6. Chris
Feeling indebted to their biggest paying advertiser, is it really that surprising that Silicon feel that they should run a few of their somewhat dubious press releases from time to time. After all: He who pays the piper calls the tune.
[Ed note: Microsoft is not silicon.com's "biggest paying advertiser" and this pubilcation has never "run press releases".]
7. Richard
that's the whole point, they didn't have any linux or other os skilled people on board.
8. Simon Bazley
Be fair to Silicon.com they were just repeating a quote by Richard Carlson, RICS head of business systems.
Some people generally believe Microsoft offer the only solution to anything. But then just as Jamie's School Dinners showed us all, familiarity breeds acceptance of the inferior. If our end users have no option but to use non-MS products, they'll find most other things are just as good, if not better, but they are different.
9. Kev
This is another example of the ease of use of Microsoft products. They may not be technically superior, they may not be as robust or secure, but they do make it very easy to get up and running. A command prompt isn't exactly inviting to a novice.
You can't blame the I.T. guys for selecting a technology that will keep them in a job.