I was just wondering how much it would cost if someone try to run his/her business with only open source software as compared to the commercial counterparts like Windows XP/MS office etc. Let’s take a situation where you are running a small business with 20 employees and some of them using special softwares like photoshop etc.

Here is an interesting view ( prices are approximate ) :

OS                  WindowsXP=6000 INR  * 20  = 120000 INR
Office              MS Office Pro=12000 INR  * 20 = 240000 INR
Image Editing   Photoshop=30000 INR * 2 = 60000 INR
Antivirus          Symantec=1000 INR * 20 = 20000 INR
Domain            Windows 2003 Server = 32000 INR * 1 = 32000 INR

Think about having a fully Linux environment running GIMP ( for image editing ) and Open Office and so many other open source software which makes your computer work to their full potential ! No worries about Viruses or Users deleting or tampering the system files , No complaints about blue screens. Centralized management of all workstations without using any other additional software. All these available for FREE !

With a little training and transition efforts ( i.e. teaching people that there are better alternatives for all these freely available ) , you could easily save approximately upto 5 Lakhs !

Now, the most important thing you should keep in mind is that FOSS is not difficult, it is just different. You need to learn it to use it. That’s all.

Here is a good article about the differences between Linux and Windows.