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New book helps "practical managers" evaluate, deploy OSS
Jun. 24, 2005

Open Source software alone can't be the best solution for every IT problem, though it often plays an important part. For technical managers seeking to incorporate OSS, from imperceptible changes in the server-room to full-scale migration, there is now The Practical Manager's Guide to Open Source.

(Click here for larger view of cover art)

"Open source in the enterprise has reached a critical mass -- no technical manager with budgetary responsibility can afford to ignore the possibility for significant cost benefit in their organization," writes author Maria Winslow, Open Source business analyst, contributing editor at Linuxworld Magazine, and Linux Today's current Editor of Open Source Applications. "The Practical Manager's Guide to Open Source is the first book to arm IT directors and system administrators with the knowledge they need to objectively evaluate open source software for their particular computing environments."

Winslow aims for the "the pragmatist's viewpoint," outlining how to determine if and how OSS can enhance existing systems in three easier-to-digest sections:

"Finding Practical Uses for Open Source Software"
  • Why Open Source is Important Now
  • Open Source in Practice: Eleven Case Studies
  • Discovering Your Migration Candidates
  • Savings (explains how to calculate ROI with included worksheets)
"Established Open Source Software"
  • Linux Distributions
  • Proven Server-side Applications
  • Proven Desktop Applications
  • Maintaining Platform-independence of Custom Code
"Moving Forward"
  • Keeping Current on Open Source Developments
  • The Ongoing Economics of Open Source
The Practical Manager's Guide to Open Source (ISBN: 1-4116-1146-2) is available for $35 USD from Lulu Press.



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