Aside from a few treasured spots secured thus far in the IT shops of Nando`s and Medscheme, open source software (OSS) has struggled to convince enterprises that it is perfectly good for the job. So the significance of the recent South African Revenue Services` (SARS) SAP migration onto Novell SUSE Linux runs far deeper than the benefits realised by SARS itself.

Celebrated SARS CIO, Ken Jarvis, says there are two prime drivers behind the decision. "The first is obviously cost. The new Linux platform is based on an Intel-powered Dell server, a significantly cheaper option than upgrading our IBM z-series to handle the increasing load placed on it. Secondly, SARS has been watching OSS for a few years now, and we are convinced that it has a role to play in our organisation. We have simply been waiting for the right time to deploy the solution."