Edu-leaders

The motto of IILM Institute of Higher Education has been to impart quality education in the field of management. IILM strives to create a niche of talented managers who make meaningful contributions to global businesses. Offering academic programs at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, IILM allows aspiring managers to get a comprehensive view of the business world. IILM institute went for Open Source (UBUNTU OS) implementation across all the campuses along with Open Office. There were many options available to them like Open SUSE, MS Office and other software on open source but felt that Ubuntu Operating system was the best choice because the Graphical interface provided by it which was almost the same as Windows and so, required less training. Also it is virus-free and provided adequate free software under different categories like Education, Office, internet etc. Also, Open Office came free along with Ubuntu and is the best alternative to Windows office. Ubuntu Operation system was deployed by the IT Support staff in all the faculty and staff computers. They prepared many copies of the Operating System and then installed it on all the computers.

Pre Implementation Issues

As in any project the implementation team faced many issues so they had to be prepared with all the solutions as well as any unusual problems that might have arisen. The problems faced by the technical team were varied. The initial problem was that the team had to learn Unix commands in order to solve networking issues. There were hardware problems like Ubuntu not getting installed on Dell systems and printer sharing with more than 1 desktop. In case of electricity or internet breakdown during up-gradation to a new version, the whole system crashed. Also, installation of drivers was problematic as it was command based using Unix as the language to give the commands. The technical staff had problems with respect to Ubuntu's compatibility with LCD projectors and it was a critical factor as it is equipment which is a part of everyday work. So the team had to work on finding optimum solutions for the main challenges which included formatting of Open Office files and technical issues like the fact that specific software for educational purpose were not available and that almost 90% of the users were new to Ubuntu.

Post - Implementation Issues

The staff were all given Ubuntu with Open Office. This marked a huge change in everyone's daily life because everyone was accustomed to Windows and MS-Office. Initially there was a resistance towards this huge change. Similarly, students were provided with laptops which had Ubuntu installed. Students also had problems adjusting to the new Operating System. Issues faced and reported by staff and students were user friendliness problems, formatting of documents was a big problem, installing software on Ubuntu as it is on linux platform, output level of commands was not as good as compared to windows. Problems were also reported with respect to crashing of the machine abruptly while upgrading the operating system. Often it happened that the problems increased to such a nature that they lingered on for days till the solution was found by the technical team.

How IILM overcame the Issues

In order to tackle the problems, there were training sessions organised. Initially there was hesitation from people and resistance to this change but people slowly started attending and moreover tried to understand the operating system as it became a part of their daily life. In training sessions people were given training with respect to the different applications in Ubuntu along with file system, storage structure and installation of freeware. Also, problems with respect to Open Office were also dealt with.

Benefits of the deployment

It was realised that there were lots of benefits of Ubuntu after the full implementation. It was found that the expenditure on Operating system and Office software had virtually become zero because Ubuntu being an open source is free. Moreover staff and students realized that they got many things for free like the Ubuntu Software Center. Everyone realized that the campus had become virtually virus free because Ubuntu didn't allow any virus to enter the system. IT Support staff decreased to a great extent when the system became stable after some months. The expenditure on the Operating system and Office software became zero because Ubuntu is free and Open office, which came along with Ubuntu, was also free. Moreover staff and students got many things for free like the Ubuntu Software Center which comprised various free software under many categories. The campus became virtually virus free because Ubuntu didn't allow any virus to enter the system thus saving the IT Support staff time. Also it was realized that a new version is released every 6 months. The company Canonical maintains a huge website which comprises of community, forums, latest news regarding Ubuntu whereby people can get solution to virtually all queries related to Ubuntu. One of the reasons why Ubuntu is better than other Open Source softwares is the fact that it has Help which is vast and properly maintained.