An operating system is the central command that manages other activities on the computer. Majority of businesses are familiar with and run their computers on Windows operating system, though in some industries, iOS, an operating system in Apple computers is preferred. The third less known option you can consider is Linux. Linux is not a well-known name like Windows, but it contains powerful features that can be beneficial to businesses of all sizes. So, what is Linux and how it can be advantageous to you?
About Linux
Linux began as the project of Finnish developer, Linus Torvalds, way back in 1991 – long before the current state of the market where Windows and iOS dominate. What started as a personal project of his to make a free, open-source operating system took off, and now all kinds of things run on Linux based systems, including many Internet of Things products.
There are lots of different distributions of Linux that have been created and there are different interfaces you can choose. Popular ones include Mint and Ubuntu, with KDE serving as a popular desktop environment (allowing you to get products like Kubuntu, which is Ubuntu with KDE). The most popular ones are very well supported and have a good community who develop for Linux and helps users get the most out of it.
But, is Linux a good option for your business computers?
Advantages
Linux is still completely free, and this is one big advantage to it if you are trying to set up your business IT without too much expense. There is all manner of free products available for it that could well cover your software needs without you having to spend a dime, depending on what you need to do
Additionally, Linux tends to be a lot more customizable than Windows or iOS (iOS being barely customizable at all and Windows becoming increasingly less so with every version). This can make for a more flexible environment that can be really tailored to your business, or allow each user to work how they want to.
Disadvantages
One of the downsides of Linux is that not every software product or IT service will be compatible with it, as its smaller market share and wider diversity in builds means not all developers design and test their products on it. As you can see here at Cloud Storage Buzz, neither of the biggest backup services, Mozy and Carbonite, are compatible with Linux.
Though Linux friendly utilities are available for just about everything, you may have to use a less well-known product than you would on Windows or learn to use new software if what you were using before isn’t compatible.
Additionally, your team may be resistant to using Linux, if it will be more complicated to use or in some way technologically inferior to Windows. It isn’t, and with an interface like KDE it is very ‘Windows-like’ in how you interact with it, but this perception may be a problem with some staff. There are many resources – you can download this Linux Command Cheat Sheet and give it to your team for starters.
Linux can be extremely powerful and a great money-saving choice. It can also be better suited to some tasks than Windows due to how accessible its options and code are. However, it is important to decide whether it is well suited to the people in your company and the software you wish to use.
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