Enterprises all over the world have begun acknowledging that there’s clearly defined areas within their IT environments where open source software is the most appropriate choice.

This has largely rendered the debate around the enterprise-readiness of Linux, and similarly open-source solutions irrelevant.

With more than a decade’s experience in assisting corporates and enterprises with the process of moving to, utilising, modifying, supporting and maintaining more open-standards and open source-focused IT environments, Obsidian Systems has become one of the most trusted partners in the Linux and open source market space.

Obsidian’s services cover every aspect of this alternative software market.

Right from identifying the most appropriate places in a customer’s business for the implementation of open source solutions, through to assisting customers that are already entrenched in the use of open source solutions, the company prides itself on a workforce that has one of the most comprehensive and complete open source skills sets on the continent.

Regardless of focus area, Obsidian believes plays a valuable role in reducing its customers’ long-term IT costs, while increasing the efficiency of their systems. And all the while, the company remains committed to ensuring customers remain in complete control of their of their valuable data.

Despite the growing popularity of Linux and other complementary software packages, professional support for open source systems and applications remains the primary point of concern for most IT decision makers.

This is thankfully, one of the areas where Obsidian’s credentials and capabilities shine most brightly. The company has been providing professional telephonic, remote and on-site support on contract and per-incident basis for more than a decade, a set of services which have in-turn made Linux and open source software a viable choice for many companies.

And as testimony to its acumen in the provision of these services, the company has implemented and maintained open source solutions in the areas of infrastructure, off the shelf, back-office and custom-developed software for some of South Africa’s most respected financial institutions, retail, logistics and healthcare companies.

Obsidian has also forged strong partnerships with the leading names in local and international IT markets.

These partnerships afford the company access to some of the most sought after information and knowledge in the open source software realm, as well as unique insight into the best practices, frameworks and management techniques being used in some of the most mature open source software environments in the world.

Obsidian’s stance on access to skills and furthermore, the development of sound open source skills within South Africa has been another key success factor for the company over the past decade.

For almost as long as the company has been in business, it has been the primary provider of training for systems administrators, engineers and other technical resources working towards obtaining the internationally recognized, the Red Hat Certified Engineer (RHCE) qualification.

To ensure that the open source skills within any organisation are well balanced, Obsidian has for the same time been strongly focused on providing training that empowers end users to effectively and efficiently use the open source applications and services available within their IT environments.