Not Screwdriver vs Hammer
Much more like SnapOn vs Craftsman vs Bargain Bin.
After all all workstations are like screwdrivers and servers like hammers. ;^)
Seriously, just use what works. We still run Novell servers at one shop. Another has gone all XenApp (for stuff that isn't web based) so who cares what the desktop is. A locked down linux box is cheaper and easier to maintain than a Windows 7 box (or even XP), especially if you are just going to XenApp or XenDesktop anyway.
The point I am making is there is not a one size fits all answer. There are linux fan boys to be sure. There are also more than a few Microsoft Fan Boys, that will slam anything not Microsoft. I hear it all the time.
No real business could run without Exchange / Outlook. (Funny I know (and manage) several that do, and quite well.)
MSSQL is the only real database. (For some MSSQL is the obvious choice. For others MYSQL or PostGre is fine.)
Office is the only viable Word Processor (though WordPerfect and Libre Office are truly viable alternatives for about 85%).
There are plenty of fan boys to go around and many of them go rabid at the drop of a punctuation mark.
Managing a total of 500+ machines of all flavors I would have to say that the stability of a system is largely dependent on its configuration, hardware, software... I have seen some stable Windows machines, I have seen some that will BlueScreen at least several times a week. The biggest difference is Linux will rarely actually panic (the equivalent of a Windows BSOD). The reason for this difference is quite simple really. Linux software typically doesn't have access to hardware the way windows software does. So Windows systems more frequently fall victim to the software that is running on them. That seems to be much less of a problem with Linux or Apple.
My job is to provide a stable system for the business to thrive at the lowest possible cost. Sometimes the solutions include Microsoft, sometimes not. I am not a fan boy to Microsoft, Apple or Linux. But just like a Master Craftsman, I have to be able to use all the tools if I plan on building anything that truly fits my clients needs. Imagine the Carpenter who only used a nail gun, or only used a hammer, or only used screws. They are all fasteners, and each have their place in a project. I would not want a house built with only one (screws, hand nailing, power nailing), but so many in IT will do just that. "Well if it is not Microsoft (Screws) it is not worth using in business" or "Well Apple is the ONLY way to do image manipulation"...
