ESP Projects Ltd: IT Support - Sheffield

Here at ESP we try to keep an open mind about software. Over the years we have tried hundreds of different software systems for our clients, some successful, some less so. Underpinning our thinking is always the question of whether it works for the customer - Does it solve their issue? Is it easy and unfussy to use? Will it be supportable –not just by ESP but by others too? Moreover will it work happily with other systems they use or may use in the future? Our approach then, often concludes that industry-standard, tried-and-tested solutions are indeed the most appropriate for many popular applications. We try not to let political points cloud our judgement.

That said, we are aware that – for many – the cycle of upgrades and licensing required to keep up-to-date with Microsoft product releases can be costly. Recent releases in particular render perfectly adequate hardware almost redundant: both Office 2007 and Vista recommend PC specifications that would have counted as full-blown servers only 18 months ago. Whilst we will never move away from supporting Microsoft products, we feel the time has come to broaden our horizons and look at some of the Open Source alternatives that available for the inexperienced user. To this end, ESP will be giving away a small number of PC’s running the free Ubuntu operating system to client organisations with a maintenance contract who would like to try it.

So, who is this offer suitable for? The PC’s come with Office software, web browser and an email/calendar system. The Office package can save in Word format so your colleagues will still be able to open documents you create. Ubuntu itself is easy to use and does not look that different to a Windows PC. Although they are capable of lots of tasks, the systems won’t be pre-installed with hundreds of features. So they are best suited to users who EITHER just need access to email, internet and office applications OR who are confident downloading and installing additional utilities where needed. They should NOT be used to replace existing PC’s, rather for staff who have the time to look at a different way of doing things and don’t expect to run ‘mission critical’ services on them. ESP are happy to install them and connect them to your network for basic functionality, but sadly we cannot provide any technical support in the use of the systems at current.

If you would like to take part in this experiment, please contact us.