Good candidate for an SMB case study

Posted by Alaa on Wed, 07/07/2004 - 13:20 :: Miscellaneous

I found us a great candidate for a case study about a en egyptian small business using FOSS.

Mr Omar Bahey El Din owns a business in Alex and uses nothing but GNU/Linux in his work, he is not only a user he is also a contributor.

here is what he has to say about his business FOSS usage

Omar BayehElDin wrote:

As for the linux,

as I mentioned before Khalid showed it to me some years ago , and it had very
strong network capabilities then , even on the 386 machines ( I amspeaking
even before the 486 machines)
and by that time I used to have a server 386.

Then when the "rekaba ala mosanafat fanyah" sent me a letter some time ago (I
still have the letter) I decided to go FREE SOFTWARE.
so with the assistance of Khalid too, I backed up all the computers I have at
work and formatted all of them in two days I did not have any licenced
software. and I started to concentrate on linux.

then I started with sql-ledger accounting system , which is a very strong
accounting system, andstarted using it for several years now , and was
using it in English till mandrake 9.1 appeared with Arabic capability so I
started to translate it ,and translated the areas I am using in the software
, and when the author asked for help in the translation ,I volunteered and
made more than 85% of the translation, I skipped the server side
translation but almost all the user interface in in Arabic now.
now I am using 100% linux application at work and at home too,
the only things I am using microsoft in are:

the cell phone software (forbackup)
Yahoo messenger when I want to use voice.

other than that everything is linux.

what we need now is for some of our Alex members to go visit mr Omar, and find out more about the business, its computer needs, how well FOSS satifies them, the details of the setup etc.

take a digital camera with you, take pictures, and make sure to either to take a copy of the mosanafat letter or photograph it in very high res.

so who will volunteer for this job?

cheers,

Alaa

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OneofOne or sherbo?

Posted by YoussefAssad on Wed, 07/07/2004 - 13:52.

Can either of you guys spare a couple of hours?

Leave darkness_wolf alone, he is still recovering from his attempt to edit the locale :)

-- Linux Egypt Lice Resident

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Sure

Posted by ShErbO on Fri, 09/07/2004 - 04:17.

sure, I've got a digital camera no problem.

I'll arrange with ramez hanna so we can go together.

sorry for the late reply, had modem trouble.

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great

Posted by ramez.hanna on Thu, 08/07/2004 - 11:19.

i'll go to alex next week and this is the first i'll do when i get there
but don't count on me i won't do it untill next week

the best things in life are free --- so as myself

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great

Posted by Alaa on Thu, 08/07/2004 - 12:43.

we can wait till next week, you can contact Mr omar on omar@eglug.org to prepare a meeting, then anounce it here so other alex members can join you.

do you have a digital camera? or will you need to borrow one?

cheers, Alaa

http://www.manalaa.net

"u know i once dream that the office of mobinil is from el 7`os :S and the one that answer u and tell u rasidak a girl called ghada"

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It's been over 2 weeks already

Posted by ShErbO on Wed, 28/07/2004 - 02:41.

I guess we should do it now before we lose time &; motivation.

ramezhanna seems busy, but ofcourse if you're able to come to alex on time you're welcome to join me &; DarKnesS_WolF.

Alaa, shall I contact Mr. Omar now ??

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please do

Posted by Alaa on Wed, 28/07/2004 - 11:50.

we agreed that you and DarknessWolf would take over this task, but make sure to coordinate with Ramez since he is already in contact with mr Omar.

cheers,
Alaa

http://www.manalaa.net

"u know i once dream that the office of mobinil is from el 7`os :S and the one that answer u and tell u rasidak a girl called ghada"

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sherbo let's start by prepari

Posted by ramez.hanna on Wed, 28/07/2004 - 13:48.

sherbo let's start by preparing the questions we need to ask him then we set a data with him so you can go and do the interview

the best things in life are free --- so as myself

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Great, Questions

Posted by ShErbO on Thu, 29/07/2004 - 14:05.

Okay with me.
This is what I suggest:

1)Identify the firm's activities &; software requirements.
2)What software did you use on windows, Linux alternatives ?
3)What did you gain by switching to FOSS (cost/headache savings) ?
4)Any problems/limitations with linux ?
5)Was switching to Linux difficult ?
6)Did the employees have a hard time switching ?
7)Are you able to communicate with the windows-world (MS Word, Excel, etc..)
8)Did you have any hardware compatibility issues ?
9)Is it easy to obtain tech-support on linux ?
10)Do the mosanafat people cause you any trouble ?
11)Do you advise others to switch too ?

Okay some of the questions seem obvious to us, but I think those are the main concerns of businesses trying to switch to linux. Please add your suggestions.
(btw, I tried to place this in a Wiki-page but failed... )

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more details

Posted by Alaa on Thu, 29/07/2004 - 15:56.

I suggest more in depth exploration of the current system they're using, of any alternatives they tried and decided to leave behind.

check wether they needed to change their process to accomodate the FOSS packages, wether they feel the need for these packages to be modified in anyway.

focus on mr Omar's contribution, and the reasons they made the descision to move.

cheers,

Alaa

http://www.manalaa.net

"u know i once dream that the office of mobinil is from el 7`os :S and the one that answer u and tell u rasidak a girl called ghada"

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advice from a pro

Posted by Alaa on Fri, 30/07/2004 - 10:45.

yesterday at the arabeyes evolution party I talked to Roblimo of slashdot and newsforge fame about our little case study and asked him for advice on how to proceed, here is what he said

"17:18:41"                  roblimo: If you guys take notes I'll edit them into a story
                            -- and run it, with your people getting credit.
"17:18:58"                     alaa: ok that would be great
"17:19:07"                  roblimo "Who, what, when, where, why &; ho"
"17:19:22"                     alaa: but any concrete suggestions on what to look for?
"17:19:25"                     alaa: what to ask etc
"17:19:27"                  roblimo: Whose idea was it, what software does he use
"17:19:48"                  roblimo: When did he start the conversion and how long did
                            it take?
"17:19:57"                  roblimo: What were the major holdups/problems?
"17:20:08"                  roblimo: How has he overcome those problems?
"17:20:40"                  roblimo: Where does he get the software he uses? Where does
                            he get help?
"17:20:58"                  roblimo: Why did he make the switch? What was the motive?
"17:21:29"                  roblimo: What benefits has he gotten? What future benefits
                            does he expect?
"17:22:15"                  roblimo: Who uses his system(s)? What are their skill
                            levels? Was retraining a problem?
"17:22:54"                  roblimo: What distros/software did he try that *didn't*
                            work out? (Valuable info for someone doing the same thing!)
"17:23:34"                  roblimo: Has he felt a sudden urge to put penguin dolls on
                            every surface? (A couple of funny questions are always good)
"17:23:55"                     alaa: :-)
"17:24:07"                  roblimo: Reporting is being nosy.

whope this helps folks, lets do this thing.

cheers,

Alaa

http://www.manalaa.net

"u know i once dream that the office of mobinil is from el 7`os :S and the one that answer u and tell u rasidak a girl called ghada"

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:-) Great advice

Posted by ShErbO on Sat, 31/07/2004 - 03:10.

Okay thx that was really useful, the advice of an expert :)

Anyway alaa, since ramez is not coming (is he ??), shouldn't we be the ones contacting Mr. Omar to set-up the date &; so forth ??

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whatever

Posted by Alaa on Sat, 31/07/2004 - 07:02.

whatever you do el mohem eno only one person contact mr Omar.

the point is to avoid confusion and not waste his time.

so since ramez is already in contact with him I thought he should do it, but its up to you guys, el mohem you guys contact each other and settle this down (I can't believe we're still waiting for this, someone take the initiative and make some phone calls wi 7'alasona).

cheers,

Alaa

http://www.manalaa.net

"u know i once dream that the office of mobinil is from el 7`os :S and the one that answer u and tell u rasidak a girl called ghada"

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raaaaaaaaameeeeeeeeeeeeeez

Posted by ShErbO on Thu, 05/08/2004 - 01:24.

raaaaaameeezzzzzz I've sent you a PM and I'm still waiting for your reply....

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that is great i`m in ISA

Posted by DarKnesS_WolF on Mon, 26/07/2004 - 11:53.

ok guys that is really good step i`m with u guys, ramez and sherbo can arang and give me a call i`m alrady free. but my digi cam not good resultion it`s soo bad. so it`s will be great if sherbo can get his cam.

peace

Live Free Or Die...

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No problem, but get it

Posted by ShErbO on Thu, 29/07/2004 - 14:12.

My digicam gives good resolution, but get yours just in case anything happens.

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ok new news.

Posted by DarKnesS_WolF on Tue, 17/08/2004 - 11:38.

peace guys i contact mr omar today by email telling him i`ll take the cell no# from ramez since ramez looks really soo busy to arang the interview as he told me on the phone. and when i call mr omar i`ll call sherbo to get confermation on the date with mr omar . insh2allha it`s will be done soon . and we need to put the final question that will be asked using Alaa`s nots and advices. and any others alex linux users want to join us just let us know.

peace

Live Free Or Die...

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i can come

Posted by jojo on Tue, 17/08/2004 - 20:58.

hello , i will come with you ISA.. .. sherpo 7ayzabat el mawdoo3 ma3aya .. just finish the deal with the man :D

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