Huckerby says the value Microsoft brought to the technology overhaul at Video Ezy can be measured in two ways: the relationship and the technology.

“Once we had made the decision, Microsoft brought a solid consultative approach and high-level design help with the business case,” he says. “Engaging Microsoft Consulting Services to help us with the design of the technology refresh also put us in a good spot to sell the concept to the franchisees. So it has been a very positive relationship. Microsoft Office is an environment that our people are already familiar with and it has all the tools they need.”

 

Lower Total Cost of Ownership
The platform assessment revealed to Huckerby that open source software could present problems in the availability and cost of technical support. Huckerby discovered that for an organization the size of Video Ezy, it was more cost-effective to deploy Microsoft.

“From a business perspective Linux just didn't stack up,” says Huckerby. “It was going to cost the business extra in too many ways - administration, training and integration. When we looked at all the components of total cost of ownership we found that Linux did not give us value for money.

“When I was at Panthers I had an ?enlightening' experience with Linux. We had just taken over a large club. It was a remote site, much the same as the franchisee operation at Video Ezy. Basically, this club had ?saved a lot of money' putting in Linux file and print servers.

“However, they were paying about $1,000 a week for administration and support. So they saved themselves some money in software but faced extra costs post-implementation.

When we put in a standard, centrally managed Microsoft operating system at Panthers, the return on investment reached about 150 per cent in the first year in cost savings alone.

“The other thing is, our franchisees know and understand Microsoft. The products are easy to use and people are comfortable with them. Choosing Linux would mean retraining everyone and that would cost too much money.”

Superior Manageability and Functionality
Huckerby describes the Microsoft Windows platform as “a solid corporate approach”.

“We were supporting what we couldn't control,” Huckerby says. “We had to put controls in via the platform, the operating system, reporting, and so on. This is how we will regain control of what we support, which is a far better position to be in. I have done this in a number of places before and I expect the support calls will dramatically decrease. Our people won't be so involved in trouble-shooting bizarre things because the environment will be standard.”

Huckerby also says that with Microsoft, Video Ezy has everything it needs to manage its IT systems from a central location. “You don't have to cobble together solutions and worry about the fact that you have to rely on one or two individuals for systems support,” Huckerby says. “You have the ability to control what will be loaded onto the machines and what people can and cannot see. You have different levels of administrative access for third-party engineers, central administrators and management. And all the while, you can make sure the kids on the floor are not downloading games.

“It comes down to this: open source just does not have the large scale management capacity that is required. The tools in the Microsoft products are more intuitive. You can upscale to products such as Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), but even without SMS, if you set up your Microsoft environment correctly it can greatly reduce problems.

“People wonder what happens when things go wrong with Linux, but it's just as much about the ability of the system to get everything going right in the first place. A Linux solution did not provide the support and comfort we need. It has not had the traction in big corporate environments to achieve this yet.”

Availability of Skills and Certification
The availability of Microsoft skills and resources at locations near Video Ezy's stores provides further comfort for Huckerby - comfort he would not have with an open source system.

“This is vital for us because business happens at the store where the customer gets served,” he says. “We have a huge CRM system, financial systems and supply chain systems - but realistically, it's only the point-of-sale system that is business-critical for Video Ezy. When it goes down, customers stop getting served and it causes a great deal of dissatisfaction. So it is vital that we have central and local support for the technology we use.”

Huckerby says certification is at least a basic benchmark and a method of validating and recognizing a level of knowledge and skill. For him, it means he can be sure that the people he has working on his IT systems have a certain gravitas and attitude.

“Without certification, what have you got?” he asks. “We are looking to certify our remote support partners. When I say certify, they will have some criteria to meet, one of which will be Microsoft certification.

“When you have a geographically dispersed franchise model as broad as Video Ezy, with stores that could literally be at the back of Bourke, you need a level of confidence that there are locals who have experience in your platform. Because of the breadth and availability of Microsoft's partners, we can leverage local skills to get someone to any of our locations within a couple of hours.”

Future Plans
Technology convergence, new players in the market, customers that expect more and better services: these are the realities facing Video Ezy. The need to get closer to customers and the emergence of video-on-demand (VOD) in particular were factored into Video Ezy's choice of platform.

VOD required a strategic approach from Video Ezy. Considered by many to be a competitive threat to the video and DVD rental business, Huckerby sees VOD as an opportunity - provided the correct business strategy and technology are in place. He says the same about customer relationship management (CRM).

“We have two levels of CRM,” says Huckerby, “CRM for end customers and CRM we are yet to roll out to support our franchisees. The franchisees are our immediate customers and consumers are their customers. They all need to be catered for.”

Scalability is also essential for the business. Video Ezy has millions of end customers and some of the company's franchise stores have databases reaching the multi-gigabyte range, making stability paramount. Huckerby is also considering a centralized procurement platform for all Video Ezy stores, with the possibility of rolling out a Microsoft Business Solutions ERP system later this year. Says Huckerby: “The great strength of the Microsoft technology road map is that it gives me confidence in the future paths we can take.”

The Final Word
Huckerby believes CIOs of large corporate environments today have a choice. “You either go it alone with open source software where it is unclear where the responsibility lies for support, or you go with a large supplier where you know what to expect and have service levels to fall back on,” he says. “It's about predictability - knowing what to expect and having someone who is accountable. Nowhere is this more concerning than with the impact on cost.

“In my experience, either way, you pay. It's money at the start with proprietary software or death by a thousand cuts as things slowly unravel with open source.

“The lack of certification with Linux is a real worry in terms of support. We have 560 sites throughout Australia and 440 throughout Asia-Pacific. We can't risk a technology environment of that size with a platform that may not work. If something goes wrong with Linux, it's not clear who to turn to.

“In my experience, Windows is a stable platform. The unknowns with open source, the potential cost blow-outs and the overall risk of failure are massive. For a CIO, a major project that goes astray is a career move. Why would you take the risk?

“If I think about risk, some open source software does not come with any intellectual property warranties. The recent action issued by SCO against IBM shows that some OSS software can attract intellectual property claims, without any recourse for the customer. This is a whole bugbear I would rather not think about.

“I know that I have predictability and protection.  Where do you stand with open source? I don't think anyone really knows The idea that you could have your entire IT system ripped away from you is a nightmare.”