Raise your standards
It is now time for the IT industry to stop encouraging the business community's blind acceptance of Microsoft 'standards', and to advise companies to consider the alternative options.
It is all too easy for IT decision-makers to fall into the trap of believing that the only safe world in software terms is the one occupied by Bill Gates. Not long ago the axiom was always: "You will never get sacked for buying IBM." A decade ago the safe purchase for a business system meant Unix and not a proprietary operating system (OS).
Most lately the advice from most suppliers has become: "Who cares about the hardware? It's better to make sure the software is Microsoft-compliant."
It is true that a Microsoft-only strategy can be the right approach for some small companies. However, it is a fact that the Microsoft server operating environment can be expensive and has the potential to make businesses more vulnerable to virus attacks, more so than other platforms such as Unix, Linux, or Apple OS.
The recent Goner and Nimda worms, which attacked only Windows-based servers, are good examples of this. It is also worth bearing in mind that most secure hosting facilities will not run Windows servers for this very reason.
Most of the world's viruses are spread as a result of unsafe computing: a combination of running a standard email system and an insufficiently thought-out strategy for receiving files from external sources. A similar attitude to the apparent safety of web browsers leaves most SMEs accused of adopting an ostrich-like approach to the obvious risks.
Small businesses would be well-advised to remember there are now viable alternatives in terms of server operating platforms that offer cheaper, more reliable, scalable options than Microsoft. Just because they have Windows on their PCs, they do not have to have Windows on the server.
By choosing an alternative, they also do not carry the same risks of bringing their businesses to a complete standstill every time a new wave of viruses attacks.
Security, stability and pricing are paramount to all small businesses. Therefore they should begin to look more seriously at Unix derivatives, such as Linux and Apple OS, to run business-critical applications safely and cost-effectively.
It is now time for the IT industry to stop encouraging the business community's blind acceptance of Microsoft 'standards', and to advise companies to consider the alternative options.
Stephen Jay is UK managing director of Hansa Business Solutions