We all know Microsoft views Linux as a serious threat and will do just about anything to discourage its use. But why would application vendors who actually face competition from Microsoft help it out in this regard? That's what one reader was wondering after discovering that his customers could no longer use a Linux server with their favorite accounting packages.
"I have two clients using multi-user network accounting packages," the reader wrote. "One uses Quickbooks, the other uses Peachtree. In both cases upgrades to newer versions of each accounting package required I set up either a peer system or a dedicated server with Windows, and move away from the Linux servers I'd set up for both. The reason? Both Intuit and Sage Software now use .NET to develop these applications, and both are, according to their support staff, complying with Microsoft standards for their backend database components -- components which won't work on non-Microsoft network servers."
The reader first became aware of the problem when Intuit's sunset policies forced one of his customers to upgrade their version of Quickbooks. "One client had been using Quickbooks Pro 2003 for 5 users when they started having problems with database corruption," the reader wrote. "When I called tech support for them, I was told Intuit no longer supports QB Pro 2003. In order to get the accounting database back up, my client would have to upgrade to QB Pro 2006. Initially I didn't see a problem with this. Their 2003 worked fine with the data on the Linux server (SUSE 9.3). However, when I started installing 2006, I saw the new requirements on the side of the box stating the data now had to reside on a Windows server, either a peer-to-peer arrangement, or a dedicated Windows 2003 Server system. In this case, I had to install the software on the newest system and reconfigure the network mappings accordingly."
Another of the reader's customers was using Sage's Peachtree. "The client was told by Peachtree that the new payroll software wouldn't work with Peachtree Complete Accounting 2004," the reader wrote. " So, they purchased the upgrade to 2007. Again, the previous version had no problems with the data on their Linux server (SUSE 9.1), but now require a Windows server, either peer-to-peer or a dedicated Windows server 2003. It also uses .NET technology and must install server components on the machine where the data will reside. This client had to purchase a new system -- it was less expensive to buy a new system than to buy a copy of Windows XP Pro and have me install and configure it on the Linux box. And since the Linux box's major purpose was to provide file services for their accounting package and documents, there really isn't a reason to maintain two servers."
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