Gadget retailer IWOOT goes open source

Online gadget specialist I Want One of Those (IWOOT) has chosen to deploy SUSE Linux Enterprise Server from Novell as part of its ongoing open source strategy.

The deployment is part of the online gadget retailer's strategy to reduce IT costs by migrating its infrastructure to open source-based technology components, having moved its website and other front-end IT systems to Red Hat last year.

Since then the company has undergone a change of ownership. But Angus Gow, I Want One of Those programme director told IT PRO the new business owners were just as keen to pursue the strategy started with the previous owners of reducing costs by eliminating expensive annual licensing and upgrade costs.

"While using open source components certainly isn't free, I'm not paying out for renewals or new licences for new users every year," he said. "The costs of carrying over configurations to new versions goes up and up every year too."

The SUSE Linux Enterprise Server will provide the company with a standard platform on which to run its Open for Business, Apache-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, desktop productivity applications and website servers, which previously ran on different operating environments including Windows.

Gow said the migration of its largely Microsoft-based back office IT environment onto the new Linux platform was a key factor in the decision to go with Novell, so the company could take advantage of the interoperability agreement signed by the two vendors last year.

"We will look to the Novell/Microsoft agreement to indemnify us against running Windows in the Linux environment, while it will help us insofar as interoperability is concerned, by offering us more options in choosing future components, allowing us to look at our IT infrastructure more holistically," he said.

He also said the company would look to exploit the interoperability agreement between Microsoft and Novell to deploy virtual servers running mixed, open source/Windows environments once testing and staging of the server infrastructure is complete in time for the busy upcoming Christmas trading period.

The next steps will be to introduce clustered servers for both the web operations and the ERP software, which will increase total compute capacity and improve resilience in the case of hardware failure. The company then plans to move to SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop from Novell and introduce Novell GroupWise to replace its existing email and calendar applications.

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