[Leaplist] Small to Medium Business Linux/Microsoft Consultants?

[William A. Mahaffey III]

Tom Parker wrote:
> Are there any?  Is it me or is this just a non-existent industry?
>
> Here's my story.  I've been working for a construction company as an
> IT Manager for the last 10 years.  My employer has always been very
> open to trying anything as long as it just works and it is stable.
> Because of this, I've had the flexibility to implement some nice
> solutions that far exceed what we could have done with just Microsoft
> alone.
>
> We have Windows Active Directory controllers, Ubuntu Linux running
> Samba and Winbind, Switchvox (Asterisk/Linux-based) phone system,
> Ubuntu Linux/Apache websites, Monowall firewall (similar to IPCop),
> Ubuntu Linux running Zimbra Collaboration Suite, and VMWare ESX.  All
> of the systems are backed up to an Ubuntu Linux server using either
> rsync or Acronis which dumps to an external drive that is stored
> off-site.  There is so much more to it, but I'll stop there.
>
> The system documentation is good, but I am working to make it perfect.
>  Why?   Because the company's revenues are drying up fast.  Last year
> was not very good and this year is looking even worse.  They cannot
> afford to keep me much longer, so I am doing my best to help them
> transition back to an IT Consulting company.
>
> We looked at five different companies.
>
> One looked at our system and because it wasn't running what they sell,
> they said they wouldn't support it for any amount of money.  They were
> a Cisco and Microsoft company.
>
> Another company simply just declined to bid stating that they don't
> have the expertise to support the setup.  The owner actually came in
> and sat down with me and I showed him all of the details of the setup.
>  I even gave him a demonstration of how Zimbra works and he loved it.
> We also shared some MS Exchange nightmares we've had.
>
> Another company tried to convince my boss that the system was a
> disaster and he could only support it by rebuilding it from the ground
> up with technology he was familiar with.  We agreed to disagree and
> parted ways.
>
> Which leaves two companies left.  One we are still waiting on a
> proposal from and the other has submitted a proposal, but it is only
> to monitor what is already running.  Both of them have little or no
> Linux experience and say things like "a few of our techs have played
> with it".
>
> Is this really all there is?  Am I the only guy who implements Windows
> and Linux servers for businesses?  I'm really tired of hearing, "You
> use Linux?  Nobody does that!"  I would love to hear some thoughts on
> this.  If any of you work for an IT consulting company that services
> small to medium sized businesses, has COMPETENT Linux AND Microsoft
> support, please contact me off list.
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
>
>   


Sounds like a bidness opportunity .... Would they hire you for some 
small # hours/month (10 or 20 hours @ competitive local rates) to 
oversee what's currently working ? That would leave you some income 
(partial/reduced, but not zero rations), & would leave you free to 
pursue other companies who might be in the same bind ....


lemonade from lemons, YMMV & all that ....


-- 

	William A. Mahaffey III

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------

	"The M1 Garand is without doubt the finest implement of war
	 ever devised by man."
                           -- Gen. George S. Patton Jr.


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