News release
April 20, 2004
COL leads enterprise revolution with move to Linux
IT services pioneer signals support and confidence in open source solutions by replacing 70 per cent of enterprise solutions with Linux
Hong Kong’s leading IT services provider, COL Ltd, has taken the lead in the move towards open source software by transitioning more than 70 per cent of its corporate IT solutions to the Linux operating system.
The move began a year ago when the company was able to cut the software costs of upgrading its corporate mail server to zero by using open source applications and a free version of Linux.
According to Kelvin Chow, Datacentre Services Manager of COL, open source options have matured significantly, making them extremely attractive to enterprises looking for reliable, high-performance solutions without the overhead of expensive software licensing agreements.
"There is no doubt that open source solutions have reached the stage where they are serious contenders for many corporate IT duties. The Linux revolution has moved out of the lab and into the enterprise data centre and we expect it to sweep through Hong Kong over the next 12-18 months as companies of every size recognise they can achieve cost savings without sacrificing performance or reliability," said Chow.
One of the big advantages of Linux and open source applications is that they are generally less resource-hungry than proprietary operating systems and applications. Many can be implemented on existing equipment and new, more advanced hardware will remain productive for longer.
"For our mail server project, we used an older server that was no longer suitable for running the latest proprietary apps, but which was perfectly capable of performing the repetitive, I/O intensive duties required to manage email traffic under Linux. That took the hardware costs down to virtually zero," he explained.
According to Chow, the only thing likely to slow down the adoption of open source solutions in Hong Kong is expertise. Or, to put it more accurately, a lack of expertise.
"Linux is powerful, but it does require a certain amount of skill to make it work. At COL, we are fortunate to have a critical mass of experienced professionals in-house to develop, implement and maintain these new systems," explained Chow.
"That experience is a resource that other enterprises can draw on as they approach their own open source projects. Indeed, it is already happening with companies like Wallem Shipping which worked with COL to develop an online timesheet system for managing I T projects, and a help desk call tracking system, both of which were based on open source applications."
COL has now replaced core enterprise applications and infrastructure such as its corporate intranet, help-desk systems, corporate email and address book system as well as firewall with open source solutions, realising cost savings of almost 80 per cent over its old proprietary solutions. The company is now working on developing an asset management application, also based on open source, which will increase its Linux penetration still further.
Chow cautions that while Linux is an excellent solution at the server level, there is still some way to go before Linux displaces the current king of the enterprise desktop – Microsoft
"Core enterprise IT solutions simply don't require all of the bells and whistles that desktops users expect so the scope for Linux at the application server level is tremendous. However, it is clear that significant progress is being made at the desktop level – faster than many people ever expected. I think we'll see a lot of interesting developments this year which could change the desktop equation dramatically," he said.
About COL
COL is Hong Kong’s leading independent computer services company, with over 30 years of local experience and employing over 200 people. COL provides data centre services including facilities management, disaster recovery and full business recovery along with professional services for application and network development. COL is the Hong Kong distributor for world leading hardware solutions in the areas of data storage, networking and printing, and software solutions for business intelligence, budgeting & planning and human resource management. COL is a Microsoft Certified Partner, a Cisco Silver Partner, StorageTek distributor, Hyperion distributor & Implementation Partner and Oracle Preferred Implementation Partner. More information about COL can be found on the Web at
Issued on behalf of COL Ltd
by Firebrand Communications
For further information, please contact:
Norris Hickerson (COL): (852) 2118 3888
(email: )
Brian Paterson (Firebrand): (852) 2122 9760
(email: )
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