COSTThe cost of a UNIX system compared with that of the Microsoft Windows 2003 is very inexpensive. The cost of using Windows 2003 in a company with a hundred plus employees is going to be well over the $300,000.00 mark that we would be need to get our organization off the ground and operation. The IT department would need to also consider whether it is going to need to overhaul the hardware that is already has available or buy upgrade packages, which seem to cost just as much as the new hardware. It is almost cheaper to buy new hardware than to upgrade what is already on hand. In looking at the prices of the UNIX operating system and also the Microsoft Windows 2003 software on the Internet, I went to PriceGrabber.com to see just how much the cost differences are. I was surprised to see just how much of a difference there is between the two operating systems.
Windows Server 2003 screenshot
Manage Your Server
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition cover boxWhen comparing the costs another factor to keep in mind is how much the upgrades will be down the road. Microsoft is notorious for upgrading their operating systems every few years. UNIX stayed relatively the same over the years and it has proven to be a very powerful operating system. RedHat is a version of UNIX that is very expensive, but it is much more powerful than Windows operating systems. I would be willing to bet that for the cost of a UNIX system to replace what most companies are already using it would cost about the same in the long haul of replacing the Windows systems that we are already using. The only down side is that most companies are going with Windows 2003 because it is almost an industry standard. It depends on what applications you are running and...