Windows is the choice for many organizations because of its wide user base. The advantages of Windows include:

• Windows is well understood by many people, which makes the operating system very accessible.
• Because Windows is backed by a large commercial vendor, the number of releases and versions of Windows is smaller than for Linux.
• The platform is highly standardized. Microsoft has established clear standards stating how Windows Services work.

The disadvantages of Windows include:

• The platform is vulnerable to viruses. This security threat needs to be appropriately managed.
• Windows file systems do not perform as well as those on Linux and Mac OS X. The difference is not hugely significant; if your organization does not have Linux or Mac OS X experience, any gain in performance will be offset by maintenance problems.
• Windows servers tend to degrade over time. This can be dealt with using virtual machine technology such as VMware and by using disk imaging.