Re: [OSS] Linux is a natural for India - By Prakash Advani

Hi Vern,
Thanks for that article.
Cheers.

--- Vern Weitzel <weitzel@undp.org.vn> wrote:
> Here is a very interesting viwpoint, including the
> part which involves M$,
> from India.
>
> Subject: [bytesforall_readers] Linux is a natural
> for India - By Prakash Advani
> Date: Mon, 27 Jan 2003 07:10:11 +0000
> From: Sunil Abraham <sunil@mahiti.org>
> To: bytesforall_readers@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
>
>
http://newsforge.com/newsforge/03/01/21/1423219.shtml?tid=19
>
> Today India is a hot topic for discussion as far as
> Linux is concerned. Many
> users around the world want to understand the
> mindset of Indians regarding
> Linux. This article attempts to give some insight to
> the market dynamics here,
> and how they make Linux a natural fit for India.
>
> Linux and open source offer the cost advantage of
> the software being free, and
> that's important for Indian people who are flocking
> to Linux.
>
> To give an analogy which people can relate to, I was
> speaking to a BPO (Business
> Process Outsourcing) outfit. These organizations
> typically perform business
> activities outsourced from companies situated in the
> West. For them the cost of
> a Wintel computer is 60 percent of the employees
> yearly salary. When they hire a
> person they end up paying a huge cost for a P4
> desktop with Windows and MS
> Office. If they move to alternatives such as Linux,
> Open Office, LTSP, etc. the
> savings the move can bring are huge.
>
> Unix has been popular in India since its early days
> of computerization.
> Computerization in India started later than the
> West, hence India bypassed the
> mainframe and minicomputer eras and went directly to
> Unix and Novell.
>
> This was because mainframes and minicomputers were
> very expensive, and not many
> India corporates could afford them, nor was trained
> manpower easily available.
> Companies implementing computers had to send people
> abroad for training or had
> to fly in the trainers. At that time the government
> didn't think computers were
> important, so the import duties were high. This made
> computers even more
> unaffordable.
>
> Things improved when Unix came. It reduced the costs
> of hardware, expertise
> became more common, and duty structures, too, got
> revised, so all IT Managers in
> India worth their salt have used Unix at some point
> in time. They appreciate the
> power of Unix, and Linux is a natural progression.
> Most of them find Linux a
> better version of Unix. This also brings in a pool
> of talent that is already
> familiar with Unix that can pick up Linux very
> quickly.
>
> Intel has been very active in India for a while now,
> and that has paid off.
> Intel has more market share in India than in most
> parts of the World. My
> estimate would be in the range of 90 percent or
> higher. One reason for this is
> that the Indian PC/Server industry is dominated by
> the white box manufacturers
> known here as "assemblers." Most of these offer
> Intel-based solutions only.
> Since India predominately uses the x86 platform, and
> that's where Linux runs the
> best, it's easy to get started with Linux here. But
> there are occassional Linux
> problems with incompatible hardware, particularly
> Winmodems.
>
> India has a huge pool of software and scientific
> talent. A lot of the engineers
> and doctors have moved to green pastures -- the West
> -- but yet talent levels
> are reasonably high. These people are also power
> users themselves, and a lot of
> them enjoy using and encouraging the use of Linux.
> Every large organization will
> definitely have one Linux guru or an enthusiast in
> it and this helps. This one
> person will generally drive the management towards
> deploying Linux. Linux
> expertise is not as easily available as your
> neighborhood Windows expert, but
> it's picking up.
>
> In the land of Mahatma Gandhi, freedom comes
> naturally. Even though free in
> India is more important than Free (note the
> capitalization), India is a
> democracy and people understand and appreciate their
> freedoms. Also, some Indian
> companies have burnt their fingers when developers
> have taken them to ransom by
> holding back source code and demanding huge sums of
> money. These companies
> appreciate software freedom and are willing to
> contribute to it.
>
> These are some of the reasons why Linux is favorable
> to India. There are also a
> few reasons why Linux is not so favorable
>
> Windows is the defacto standard for desktops. Most
> PCs and laptops ship with
> Windows, and people think that everyone uses Windows
> so I should also be using
> Windows. All the PC vendors and white box
> manufacturers are very comfortable
> supporting Windows.
>
> Piracy is rampant, and Windows/MS Office is the top
> on the list. Here the cost
> comparison doesn't help Linux because a pirated copy
> of Windows is considered
> free. Thankfully, Microsoft is getting after people
> and conducting raids so
> people are getting concerned about piracy. Because
> all of them can't afford
> Windows, they are now at least considering Linux.
>
> Windows applications are there in plenty, especially
> custom-developed
> applications. Most people have no love for the
> Windows operating system, but the
> application situation is what holds them back from
> changing to Linux.
>
> Windows programmers, and thus applications, are
> easily available. Any person
> with some knowledge can write a simple business
> application using VB and Access.
> This results in more and more Windows applications.
>
> In spite of these limitations, Linux is still
> picking up, and there is a lot of
> Linux interest and enthusiasm among the people.
> Corporate managers, especially
> the CFOs, are seeing Linux's cost benefits and are
> adopting Linux in their
> companies. The government, too, is getting
> supportive and is trying to emulate
> what other countries are doing with Linux.
>
> We hope to see Linux proliferate more in this part
> of the World, and if things
> keep going the way they are it looks like we will.
> --
> Sunil Abraham, CEO
> MAHITI Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
> 'Reducing the cost and complexity of ICTs'
> 314/1, 7th Cross, Domlur
> Bangalore - 560 071 Karnataka, INDIA
> Ph/Fax: +91 80 4150580. Mobile: 98441 01150
> sunil@mahiti.org http://www.mahiti.org
>
>
>
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=====
T.M.Thanh,M.D.
Hanoi - Vietnam

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