There are a wide range of different vendors for back end servers systems and services some of which may be more popular than others but we think that the ones we install are the best.

So what is the best? Here is what we look for as a definition of a best of breed product:

1. Security - The last thing you want after working hard installing and configuring you server is for someone to download a tool from the internet which can easily hack into it or to be hit by an internet Bot attack or have your entire systems wiped out by a virus attack
2. Functionality - If you've bought your expensive new software and then have to fork out a whole load of extra money for 3rd party products to make it work then your software is lacking in functionality
3. Bloat-ware - Are you forced to run multiple servers each hosting just a single service? Does your email system require multiple servers to work even though you don't have tens of thousands of users? Are your new server OS system disk sizes 10 times the size they used to be with no discernible comparable increase in functionality? Then you are probably paying over the odds for your software, hardware, power and floorspace.
4. Compatibility - In the real world an organisation is not going to go far if it's IT services don't talk with another organisations IT services, in today’s reality this means that your IT services have to talk fluently with Microsoft products however we also have to look to the future, we don't believe that it will be too long before the rising influence of other vendors such as Apple and Google will mean that your IT services will have to be trilingual, quadri-lingual or more!

So having read this list it will not be a shock to you that ST-FOUR believes in Open Source technologies, they are more flexible, secure, streamlined and poly-lingual than the most currently popular business back-end systems and as a result are quickly carving a slice of the market.

So why isn’t everyone using Linux and Open Source for their back-end systems of choice? We believe that the answer is quite straightforward, the trade-off with the benefits of Open Source technologies is that because they can be built by anyone there is no single entity to turn to if there are problems, this can cause concern for an organisation who wants to move from a more expensive vendor i.e. who will support them after a wholesale migration to Linux?

OK, this is a concern for many organisations but in reality it is unfounded for the following reasons:

1. You don't have to do a wholesale migration. Want to dip your toe in the water first to get used to it? No problem, Linux systems will drop seamlessly into your current IT environment, they already do, it's almost a certainty that all your other systems, your routers, switches, phones systems, door controls, firewalls, email filters, Photocopies, mobile devices and so on are running on Linux or Nix.
2. You don't have to go it alone, there are a number of major multinational Linux vendors who will not sell you Linux (it's Open Source remember) but will sell you "enhanced" Linux offerings bundled with their own propriety enterprise software in addition to all the bundled in Open Source software. This can be a good stepping stone or even end goal for Organisations looking to save money and get more functionality as the addition of the propriety software often makes the systems easier to manage and the buyer has the benefit of a centralised support contract with the vendor for all of their Propriety and Open Source Linux software.

So what are you waiting for? Here are some of our preferred Linux based Enterprise back-end systems:

Novell Open Enterprise Server (OES)

A direct replacement for Windows NTFS file shares, Printing  and Active Directory (including DHCP, DNS, Group Policies, Login Scripts et al)

OES has it's own directory service eDirectory that is significantly more advanced than Active Directory and is accessible via LDAP in the same way. User, Groups and other object are all managed through a web interface.

It comes with free 2 node clustering (scalable to 32 nodes) and Shadow Volumes (to push less important files to less expensive near line storage while still giving the user full access), a full search engine which can be used against a website or it's own file system (want a search engine for your files? here you go!) and remote access to the actual file system via a web browser (no more uploading and downloading the files you wan to access externally)

BUT HOW CAN I RUN MY SYSTEMS WITHOUT ACTIVE DIRECTORY?

Have applications that need Active Directory, not a problem, OES comes with Domain Services for Windows, a completely reverse engineered Active Directory Service that runs on Linux, and the screen shot below shows what it looks like:

Look familiar? Of course it does and that's the beauty of DSfW from a management and integrations perspective IT IS Active Directory. So what can you do with it:

• Add/Delete/Disable Users and Groups
• Add Windows workstations into it
• Add Windows servers and services into it
• Create a Windows Login Script
• Create, Manage and push out Group Policies
• Form AD Trusts with other Microsoft Active Directory directories
• Connect to using LDAP with AD credentials
• Login from Windows servers and workstations

In fact you can use it in exactly the same was as you use your current Active Directory.

Novell GroupWise

A direct replacement for Exchange including enterprise shareable email, calendars, Alarms, Shared Folders, Task Lists, Mobile Phone Access, Blackberry Access (needs IMAP enabled or a BES server)

GroupWise uses significantly less resources than Exchange ( up to 10,000 users per server) and can be clusters up to 32 nodes!

GroupWise can run on Windows or Linux, obviously Linux is a better choice for security, virus protection, cost savings etc

The GroupWise server and client do not currently have any known Virus or Spyware threats.

Features:

• Works with Outlook however it comes with it's own email client that is more secure and is very similar to Outlook in look and feel.
• Web Access with more functionality that Outlook Web Access
• Mobile Phone sync with ActiveSync
• Send and receive calendar appointments with all major email systems such as Exchange or Lotus Notes.
• Built in file viewer
• 2 way iCal internet calendering (add iCal calendars to your GroupWise calendar or update a GroupWise calendar locally and it will automatically update a web page linked via iCal to your calendar)
• Maintain multiple Calendars and Shared address booked (all visible in WebAccess)
• and much more

What to see what it looks like?, OK here you go:

What about other systems that "Need Exchange" well most systems that claim to need exchange actually only need an SMTP server or Outlook so  no problem there.

If there system actually does need Exchange then there is an answer Novell Data Synchroniser, it allows GroupWise to connect to Mobile devices, Sharepoint, SugarCRM, Salesforce and others.

Novell ZENworks

Novell ZENworks is the best desktop management suite of products available on the market today, it has a long award winning pedigree and it shows.

For more information see the Desktop Management page