Software should be free as in:

Freedom

Speech

Beer

"Virus Free"

Genuine Software - Make Sure It's Legal

Companies risk making their IT systems vulnerable by using closed source (proprietary) software, i.e. software that comes without source code for their IT staff to inspect and with complicated software licenses.

Install Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)

Open Source Software is provided with a license that gives the end user the right to deploy it freely for private or commercial use. You also have the right to inspect and even modify the underlying source code. You can deploy it on all your systems and copy it freely throughout your organisation.

Genuine Software Advantage

Using Open Source software saves money in many ways.

A single Linux distribution contains most applications you're likely to need and can be installed on many systems. It's the ultimate volume discount. In addition, online update systems provide productivity enhancing upgrades, bug fixes, security enhancements and special add-ons.

Organisations that manage their software effectively standardise employees on common platforms. All users have high-quality, fully functional software and can receive online support if they have questions.

You can get rid of obsolete, expensive legacy systems and manage assets more efficiently, resulting in fewer IT support calls, lower administration costs, and higher user satisfaction.

With Open Source Software you have the assurance that you are protecting your company from the legal fees, financial penalties, and bad press that accompany piracy lawsuits.

Safety in Numbers

When programmers can read, redistribute worldwide, and modify the source code for a piece of software, the software evolves. People improve it, people adapt it, people fix bugs. This can happen at a speed that, if one is used to the slow pace of conventional software development, seems astonishing.

This evolutionary process produces better software than the traditional closed model, in which only a very few programmers can see the source and everybody else must blindly use an opaque block of bits. Co-operation between various projects and software integration is easier since they all have the source code.

Software License Audit

Please spend a moment to consider how your company manages its software. This will help you assess if you could benefit from moving to Open Source Software under the GNU General Public License.

Take Action Now

If you're not 100% sure on any of these points, remove any proprietary or unlicensed software from your computers and replace it with Open Source alternatives. This will save you time, legal hassles, and money on license fees. Contact us if you need assistance on these matters.

Software Migration

Open source software is used at all levels of our organisation and has replaced various flavours of Microsoft^® Windows™ and Apple Mac OSX. Linux servers and workstations now provide a number of benefits:

1. A stable and robust operating environment to run a wide variety of mission critcal applications on a wide range of hardware.
   

2. Immediate access to a over 20,000 software packages including the highly acclaimed OpenOffice suite which is fully interoperable with MS Office documents and file formats.
   

3. Higher level of security and much less susceptible to malicious attacks.
   

4. High quality documentation and comprehensive support from the global OSS community.
   

5. Standards compliance (POSIX)
   

6. Cost savings and no license fees.
   

7. Much longer hardware replacement cycles and reduced downtime.
   

8. Greater control over systems and transparency.
   

Free Software Stops Piracy

The best way to protect consumers is to educate them about the issue of software piracy, then help them to spot counterfeit software and pick an open source alternative instead. We are committed to protecting our customers from counterfeit software and other forms of software piracy.


For those outside the software industry, it can be difficult to appreciate the scope and impact of one of the industry's biggest problems, counterfeit software. The Business Software Alliance (BSA) has estimated that 35 percent of all PC software used worldwide is counterfeit or otherwise illegal.

Software piracy is the illegal reproduction and distribution of software applications, whether for business or personal use. The negative impacts of counterfeiting and other forms of software piracy extend from the companies who wrote the software through the ecosystem of local resellers worldwide who depend on software sales, through to individual consumers. Counterfeit software can even expose consumers and businesses to spyware, viruses, faulty code and identity theft.

Unlike other things you purchase, the software applications you buy don't belong to you. Instead, you become a licensed user, you purchase the right to use the software on a single computer. You can't use copies on other machines, pass it on to colleagues, or modify the software to suit your needs.

Pirated Software Hazards and Costs

With increasing piracy it is becoming harder to ensure that computer software is genuine and properly licensed. As a result, the software may contain outdated code or licenses or may not function at all. It could possibly contain bugs or hidden viruses affecting entire company IT networks, not just the one computer that the software is installed on.

Unlicensed users do not receive quality documentation and are not entitled to receive technical support or product upgrades, patches, or updates. Organisational productivity also suffers when employees use pirated products. Pirated software often leads to version control problems that prevent employees from efficiently sharing files, while driving up IT support costs. You better delete it now and move on to Open Source Software.