Open Systems Formal Evaluation Process

System Administrators and Architects are faced with an abundance of products that can be used to solve a problem or fill a need. Some of these products are not truly compatible with existing or Open Systems hardware and software. They can even be proprietary solutions re-packaged to grab a slice of the "open systems" market. Separating the chaff from the true performers will continue to be an increasingly difficult problem. This difficulty, combined with an increasing trend towards enterprise wide client/server technologies, shows a definite need to qualify procurement techniques and practices. This paper gives administrators the information to successfully organize or re-organize internal policies and procedures to perform appropriate evaluations of Open Systems products.