Surveyors ditch Linux in favour of Microsoft

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has ditched Linux in favour of Microsoft to run its website, after being unable to find an open source package that could fulfil its needs.

RICS wanted to increase the level of personalisation it offered to its 110,000 members by replacing its "brochureware" website, said Richard Carlson, RICS head of business systems.

In the first phase it deployed Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 and Content Management Server 2002, and has now integrated the website with its back-office systems using Microsoft’s BizTalk Server 2004.

Carlson said that when scoping out the project a year ago it was hard to find a Linux package that could do the job

"We are still not sure if there is a Linux alternative to BizTalk. And BizTalk equals the integration. I’ve got to based decisions on business requirements – if Linux had offered the solution I needed it would have been considered," he said.

Carlson said if RICS had chosen a Linux package it would have also needed to take on more staff to support the Linux servers, because the existing Linux website was externally hosted and managed.

"It would have meant more complexity for us and more cost. It’s the challenge for all IT directors; you are under pressure to deliver more with less money and so if you go off down different skills routes it just adds to the costs of the business. The simpler you can keep it the better," he said.

RICS is already seeing the advantages of the new infrastructure. Carlson said its online book sales have increased by 28 per cent on a year ago and 30,000 members have registered for the site in the last six months.

The organisation is also planning further personalisation including new student and business zones on the site. But Carlson said the door was still open to using Linux in the future if the right technology came along. "I don’t have a problem with that," he said.