It still causes me uncomfortable dispepsia to admit that Microsoft’s directory coup worked so well. Since Windows desktop systems are so challenging to own without it, Microsoft succeeded at pushing Active Directory into wide deployment in the business world. As advocates for desktop Linux promote fitness and readiness for use in the business world, few seem to surmise what a strong fortress Microsoft has built around Windows. It’s not just about the platform; the enterprise infrastructure matters, too. When it comes to business information technology, the subtext beneath “just replace the desktops of the types of user for whom Linux is ready” reads “change your management system for all these user’s desktops, too.” Such a proposition is unsavory to the already change-averse IT culture.
http://reverendted.wordpress.com/2006/09/12/linux-goes-mad/