Big Box Linux

[Paul Baranowski]

Thanks for the tips Rouben!  Replies below...

Rouben wrote:
> Speaking from a business perspective, OS marketing (as in, "Linux
> works, honest!") is not at all your biggest hurdle. I think you should
> be targeting educational institutions and focusing more on the thin
> client/media box market. I have to admit, I am a tad biased, since I
> work at U of T. :) Here are some ideas that I hope you will find
> useful...

I was planning on talking with U of T about it...do you happen to know who I
should speak with?


> * Must be able to deal in bulk (especially with universities)

Dealing in bulk is no problem.


> * Must be cheaper in bulk than major competitors (the way it works is
> that most educational institutions have preferred vendors and they
> have to justify purchases from non-preferred vendors... if you're
> substantially cheaper, you win).

Being substantially cheaper would be pretty difficult, if not impossible.  The
markup is really small already for computers, so you cant cut the price very
much and stay in business.  So the selling point has to be about something else,
some other value-added.


> * Support, support, support. Be prepared to have very quick turnaround
> time on spare parts, service, etc. If you can set up a mail order
> system where you ship the replacement part and then the client ships
> you the defective part and absorb the cost of shipping (courier
> preferred) then you have a chance to compete with guys like Dell in
> the education market.

This is how we currently operate.


> * Be flexible: be willing to help clients transition (or sometimes
> not) from Windows. Be prepared to ship computers with Windows (and/or
> Ubuntu) dual-booting.

We're definitely OK with this, but also people are starting to gravitate to the
virtualization option and just run both at once.


> * Offer "virtual" desktops, where Ubuntu runs on the bare metal with
> VMWare/VirtualBox serving up Windows XP. The run something like
> BackupPC in coordination with VMWare Snapshots to offer a
> comprehensive backup strategy with point-in-time restore ability. Sell
> that with a NAS rig as a nice low-cost disaster recovery package.

This is a great idea...but I rather like Ubuntu being the main operating system
instead of windows. ;)


> * Think about "small business in a box" type turnkey solutions. Offer
> up packages that include some initial consulting to get small
> businesses started... maybe get a hosting reseller package, and offer
> webhosting as well (managed IT services outsourcing).

Any idea what would go into it that would be specific to a small business?  Are
you thinking POS-type solutions?


> * Media servers and Mythbuntu appliances! Maybe team up with Koolu
> (www.koolu.com) to offer custom built media servers? That might be a
> good chance to sell a NAS appliance and/or a home networking package
> as well.

The media PCs are an entirely different market with completely different
expectations by the customer.  I would love to get into this market eventually,
but just dont have the bandwidth at the moment.


Paul Baranowski
Big Box Linux, Inc.
416-619-0874
416-628-1252 (Fax)
paul at bigboxlinux.com