The 30-Day Migration Plan

Part 8 of 8 in the Linux Business Playbook.

The previous seven parts covered the pieces. This final part puts them in order.

A migration goes wrong for one of two reasons: it is rushed, or it never starts because it feels too big. A month is long enough to do it properly and short enough to keep momentum. Here is the plan we use, week by week.

Week 1: audit what you actually use

Do not start with Linux. Start with a list. For every person, write down:

• every program they open in a normal week
• every website they log in to for work
• every device on their desk: printer, scanner, label printer, EFTPOS terminal, barcode scanner, webcam

Then sort each item into one of four buckets:

| Bucket | What it means | Typical examples | | --- | --- | --- | | Runs in a browser | Works on Linux today, nothing to do | Xero, MYOB, Microsoft 365 web apps, Canva, most CRMs | | Has a Linux version | Install and carry on | Chrome, Firefox, Zoom, Teams, Slack, Thunderbird | | Has a good alternative | A different program does the same job | Microsoft Office to OnlyOffice, Photoshop to GIMP or Affinity via web | | Needs Windows | Keep a Windows machine for this | Adobe Creative Cloud, some accounting add-ins, specialised hardware |

Devices deserve extra care. Printers are the most common snag in real migrations: most modern ones work without any setup, but some business models need a specific driver and a few older receipt and label printers have no Linux support at all. EFTPOS terminals usually talk to the bank over their own connection, but one that plugs into a PC should be checked with the provider. Check every device by model before Week 2. Pleasant surprises are fine; unpleasant ones are expensive.

Week 2: pilot with one volunteer

Pick one person who is curious rather than one who is senior. Give them a Linux machine for the week: a spare PC set up fresh, or their own machine set to start in either Windows or Linux, so nothing is lost.

Ask them to do their normal job and write down every snag, however small. At the end of the week you have a short list of real problems rather than a long list of imagined ones. Most are fixed in an afternoon.

Week 3: move the data and set things up

With the pilot's notes in hand, prepare everything the rollout needs:

• Files. Keep OneDrive or Google Drive, which work fine from Linux, or move the shared drive to Nextcloud as covered in Part 5. Not both.
• Email and calendar. Set up the chosen client, or simply the browser, for each person.
• Printers and scanners. Add them once, correctly, using the pilot notes.
• Bookmarks and passwords. Install the password manager and import everyone's bookmarks so day one feels familiar.
• A one-page cheat sheet per role. Where things live, what the new names are, who to ask.

Week 4: roll out in waves

Move two or three people a day, not everyone on Monday. Start with the team closest to the pilot user, so there is a friendly face who has already done it. Keep one clearly labelled Windows PC for the "needs Windows" bucket, and do not apologise for it.

Open a two-week "ask anything" window: no question is too small, and every answer gets added to the cheat sheet. By the end of the fortnight the questions dry up on their own.

Measure it

Three numbers tell you whether it worked:

1. Licence savings. Add up the Windows and Microsoft Office licences you no longer renew. For most offices this is the largest, most visible figure.
2. Support tickets. Count calls for help in the month before and the month after. Expect a bump in the first fortnight and a drop below the old baseline after that.
3. Staff feedback. One question, a month in: "Is anything slower or harder than before?" A short list, fix it. A long list, you moved too fast.

The checklist

| Week | Done when | | --- | --- | | 1. Audit | Every app, site and device is listed and sorted into a bucket | | 2. Pilot | One volunteer has worked a full week on Linux and the snag list is written | | 3. Set up | Files, email, printers, passwords and cheat sheets are ready | | 4. Roll out | Everyone except the Windows holdouts is moved, and the ask-anything window is open | | Month 2 | Licence savings, ticket count and staff feedback are reviewed |

Worked example: a twelve-person marketing agency

A Brisbane agency with twelve staff ran this exact plan. The audit found that almost everything the account managers and writers used lived in a browser: the project tool, the CRM, Xero, Canva and Microsoft 365 web apps. Three designers depended on Adobe Creative Cloud, which has no Linux version.

They piloted with one account manager, who reported two snags: the office multifunction printer needed its manufacturer's driver, and the shared drive shortcuts were in the wrong place. Both were fixed before Week 3. Files moved to Nextcloud on a small box in the server cupboard; the designers kept their Windows machines and simply connected to the same shared drive.

Nine PCs moved over Week 4, three a day. The holdout Windows machines stayed for the designers and for one legacy accounting add-in the bookkeeper used quarterly.

The outcome, in rough terms: the agency stopped renewing Windows and Microsoft Office licences for nine seats, which it had been paying annually, and replaced them with nothing. Support calls rose in the first two weeks and were lower than before by the end of the second month. The designers never noticed the change, which was the point.

What still needs Windows

Across the series, the same short list of holdouts comes up again and again:

• Adobe Creative Cloud and a few other professional design and video tools
• Specialised industry software that ships only as a Windows program, common in accounting add-ins, conveyancing, medical and some trades
• Hardware without Linux drivers, mostly older label printers, receipt printers and scanners
• Vendor-mandated security or compliance tools required by an insurer or franchisor

Keeping one or two Windows machines for these is normal. The goal is not purity. It is fewer licences, fewer interruptions and a fleet that is easier to look after.

Key takeaway

Thirty days is enough. Audit first so there are no surprises, pilot with one willing person so the snags are real, prepare the data and the printers before anyone moves, then roll out in waves with a clearly labelled Windows PC for the holdouts. Measure the savings and the support calls a month later, and you will know whether to keep going.

This is the final part of the Linux Business Playbook. Start again from Part 1.

How We Help Your Business

• We run the Week 1 audit with you, check every printer, scanner and terminal by model number, and give you a plain-English report of what moves, what has an alternative, and what stays on Windows.

• We set up the pilot machine, prepare files, email and printers for the rollout, move staff in waves, and staff the ask-anything window so your team is never stuck.