To run a "real" company, of let's say, 200 people or more, dealing with mildly sensitive data, you need Microsoft[1][2][3][4]. You need Microsoft because you need:
* Calendaring that Just Works, and a capable client for it. This involves an Exchange server and MS Office;
* You need mail that Just Works, and Just Works in conjunction with the above calendaring; this involves an Exchange server and MS Office;
* You need an easily controllable and relatively cheap OS that can run Word, Excel, and a web-browser for non-technical staff, and can be run on cheap-ass Dell boxes; currently this involves Windows and MS Office;
* You need a shared fileserver for people to upload company party photos to, storing improperly protected financial spreadsheets, and so on;
* You need a central identity system to tie the whole shebang together; this involves Active Directory
To summarise, you need:
* ActiveDirectory, for which there is now Amazon WorkMail
* Exchange, for which there is now Amazon WorkMail
* Windows File Sharing, for which there is now Amazon WorkDocs
* Windows desktops that can run MS Office ... for which there is sort of Amazon WorkSpaces
The question now becomes: can I get away with running a 200-person company with no relationship with MS by deploying cheap-cheap Linux machines with a VNC-client to Amazon WorkSpaces for non-technical staff? And the answer is ... perhaps, but I need my people to be able to work without an internet connection, so probably not.
But still, that's fucking huge.
The one piece missing in this lineup is capable local Office apps. You simply cannot get away with not having Excel, Word, and Outlook's Calendar functionality ... yet. Finance, Admin, Management, and non-dev IT will riot without Excel; Admin, Sales, and Management will riot without Word; Sales and Management will riot without Outlook, and blood will be spilled over the management of more than two meeting rooms. OpenOffice, LibreOffice, whatever, they don't cut it in the real world.
So while it doesn't sound like their game, if Amazon were to release a lock-down-able Linux and some high-quality Office apps, they can take SME IT away from Microsoft. That's is HUGE. Hell, if they can put together a package that can run Office under WINE reliably, and sort sensible licensing terms, it's just as huge, but I can't see MS allowing that licensing part to happen, because it would be suicide.
Interesting times!
[1] I don't care how Canonical or RedHat manage their internal IT
[2] Nor do I care about how your 11 person social media startup does it
[3] I too did all my best IT management before I became responsible for it
OpenOffice is not good enough but you still think Amazon can release something better just like that? Oo shows how hard the problem is, even if you have decades of experience. Amazon has almost no experience with huge desktop applications, they can't possibly release something that can seriously compete with MS Office.
> This involves an Exchange server and MS Office;
Pretty sure you must be joking. We 1000+ real company have zero exchange. Google apps. People sure love to run MS products on their Macs though. Puzzler that. I'll stick to google docs when I have to and alternatives when I have a choice.
Can't remember the last MS Word/Excel/Powerpoint document I've ever created. You could not pay me to run Exchange.
* Calendaring that Just Works, and a capable client for it. This involves an Exchange server and MS Office;
* You need mail that Just Works, and Just Works in conjunction with the above calendaring; this involves an Exchange server and MS Office;
* You need an easily controllable and relatively cheap OS that can run Word, Excel, and a web-browser for non-technical staff, and can be run on cheap-ass Dell boxes; currently this involves Windows and MS Office;
* You need a shared fileserver for people to upload company party photos to, storing improperly protected financial spreadsheets, and so on;
* You need a central identity system to tie the whole shebang together; this involves Active Directory
To summarise, you need:
* ActiveDirectory, for which there is now Amazon WorkMail
* Exchange, for which there is now Amazon WorkMail
* Windows File Sharing, for which there is now Amazon WorkDocs
* Windows desktops that can run MS Office ... for which there is sort of Amazon WorkSpaces
The question now becomes: can I get away with running a 200-person company with no relationship with MS by deploying cheap-cheap Linux machines with a VNC-client to Amazon WorkSpaces for non-technical staff? And the answer is ... perhaps, but I need my people to be able to work without an internet connection, so probably not.
But still, that's fucking huge.
The one piece missing in this lineup is capable local Office apps. You simply cannot get away with not having Excel, Word, and Outlook's Calendar functionality ... yet. Finance, Admin, Management, and non-dev IT will riot without Excel; Admin, Sales, and Management will riot without Word; Sales and Management will riot without Outlook, and blood will be spilled over the management of more than two meeting rooms. OpenOffice, LibreOffice, whatever, they don't cut it in the real world.
So while it doesn't sound like their game, if Amazon were to release a lock-down-able Linux and some high-quality Office apps, they can take SME IT away from Microsoft. That's is HUGE. Hell, if they can put together a package that can run Office under WINE reliably, and sort sensible licensing terms, it's just as huge, but I can't see MS allowing that licensing part to happen, because it would be suicide.
Interesting times!
[1] I don't care how Canonical or RedHat manage their internal IT
[2] Nor do I care about how your 11 person social media startup does it
[3] I too did all my best IT management before I became responsible for it
[4] Seriously.