Kennards' project, named Merlin, is due for completion in March next year and will also involve conversion of the company's point-of-sale (POS) systems to Linux. This will let Kennards use standard PCs for POS instead of proprietary dedicated devices. Computerworld understands the savings in licence fees will contribute significantly to the project's ROI.

Whether Kennards deploys Linux desktops at its corporate headquarters is yet to be determined.

Linux Australia vice president Pia Waugh said the organization is very pleased to see the Australian business market take advantage of the opportunities open source provides to solve technology and information management challenges.

"We look forward to being able to support the business community through our strong local Linux and open source technical community," Waugh said. "Open source software is good for business because it lowers yearly costs and reduces the risk associated with IT."

Waugh said open source allows a lot more capacity for small companies to grow rapidly without having to add extra people to the business. "The business can grow at the market rate and not the limitations of their wallet," she said.