Did you notice...

[Undertoad]

In the current Windows Server 2003 TV ads:

...important people in the company run into IT workers, at a party, while on a tour, etc...

...and have a little interaction, in which the IT people are considered irritating and confusing, impossible to understand, and are systematically disrespected...

...until they explain that their current work is going to save the company money...

...and in two out of the three ads, the most likely way the company would save money would be through the layoffs of IT personnel.

The theme here is that computing, in the industries of the world, is quickly becoming a commodity item which can be managed by dumber people, does not require any customization, does not require as much help desk, etc.

That's not what they meant to suggest, of course; what they meant to suggest is that because of complicated things added to Windows Server by Microsoft, things with long names we don't understand, the cost of ownership of Windows Server machines is lower than that of Linux, even though the cost of the software is much, much, much higher.

(They have to say this without mentioning Linux by name because there are a ton of people out there who don't realize that Linux is the competition, and who would consider Linux if they knew more about it.)

We already know that we IT people are the ones corporate tries to avoid at the office party. Hell, we try to avoid them too. I just thought it was not supposed to be talked about.

[Whit]

      The irony of the linux thing is that Linux is still picking up steam. At least that's what it appears to me as a non-IT guy. The catch-22 is that windows can't really do anything about it or they'll get slaughtered in the next monopoly case that comes up against them. Yeah, Windows is a monster eating its own tail at this point. Linux is in a good position to put up a real fight and at very least make windows really improve to remain dominant.
      Maybe I'm wrong though, I am one of the least computer oriented people on this board. Consider mine an uneducated outsiders viewpoint then.

[russotto]

Actual IT people, of course, are snickering behind their hands, as the Microsoft product which reduces requirements for support personnel hasn't been written yet.

[Uryoces]

The ironic thing is that a Linux environment, properly setup and administered, would require far fewer staff, and a reduced helpdesk. The problem is that IT managers, even if they know and fully understand how linux will benefit them, will not implement it for the following reason. Every division would report how much they've grown [or how they've cooked the books to make it look like they've grown], and what targets they've met, but it would be suicide for the IT manager to say that his division is shrinking, and is not growing. Underspending means that the IT division will get less next year, not more. Even if money saved is take into account, efficiency is not rewarded by the way the metrics are measured.