FAQ

OpenLx FAQs — Common Questions About Migrating to OpenLx

Here are answers to the questions we hear most often from Educational and other Institutions, Government offices, PSUs and Enterprises, about File-compatibility, Training, Security, Cost, and Support, etc.

What about the life of our Hardware, as the OS goes on getting upgraded?:

Keep the computers you already have. OpenLx runs on the machines your organization is being told to replace — for their full working life.

Support: (End-of-support date and the TPM Requirement for Windows 11)

The current position, as at today:

• Windows 10 mainstream support ended on 14 October 2025.

• Commercial Extended Security Updates are available until October 2028, per device, escalating: approximately US$61, then US$122, then US$244 per device per year.

• The free consumer ESU extension to October 2027 excludes domain-joined, Entra-joined and MDM-managed devices — that is, government desktops.

• The successor version requires TPM 2.0; machines without it cannot be upgraded by supported means.

As against that, with OpenLx Linux Desktop, "Nothing stops working":

• Perpetual right to use. No time-locked license, no deactivation and no reduction of function at term end.

• The update server sits inside your own network, under your control.

• Source availability in accordance with the applicable open-source licenses.

• What lapses at the end of a term is the on-site support manpower, not the software.

A documented exit and transition: handover of builds, repository, configuration and documentation, with a stated transition-assistance period.

What Safeguards do you offer for a large deployment?

A no-cost proof of concept, payment against acceptance rather than against supply, a performance bank guarantee, deposit of the complete build and repository with you, a perpetual right of use, and documented reversibility of every machine. These are offered as standard and we will write them into the contract. See How we take the risk off you.

Do you provide support and AMC with a proper SLA?

Yes. The first year of support is included in the migration charge. After that we offer an annual maintenance contract at friendly and affordable rates, under a service level agreement with defined response and resolution times, an escalation matrix and service credits if we fall short.

Will my existing Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files work on OpenLx?

Yes. OpenLx's built-in office suite fully supports DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, and PPTX formats. You can open, edit, and save files in these formats without conversion, and export any document, spreadsheet, or presentation directly to PDF. Note: Only the proprietary-software created Macros and VB-Scripts may need to be re-done once in LibreOffice.

How difficult is it for staff to switch from Windows to OpenLx?

OpenLx is designed with a friendly, familiar graphical interface, so most users adapt within days, not weeks. For larger organizations, our team provides structured training and on-boarding support to make the transition smooth for every department. Typically, an unbiased user needs just about 15 to 30 minutes of Guided usage.

Is OpenLx really not vulnerable to the malware that affects Windows PCs?

The overwhelming majority of malware in circulation today is written specifically to exploit Windows systems. Because the architecture of OpenLx Linux is fundamentally different, it is not a target for that category of malware — which also removes the need for a separate anti-virus subscription.

How much can our organization actually save by switching?

Savings of 64.4% over 3 years to 69.6% over 6 years on desktop software cost over three to six years, and continuing thereafter — no operating system, office suite or anti-virus license falls due for renewal. For large deployments — educational & other institutions, government departments, enterprises — this can add up to significant savings annually, while keeping IT spending within India rather than on foreign licenses.

Can OpenLx be deployed across hundreds or thousands of desktops?

Yes. Unlike consumer Linux distributions, OpenLx is built specifically for bulk, organization-scale deployment, with dedicated roll-out planning, training, and ongoing support from our team.

What kind of support does OpenLx provide after deployment?

Our team offers ongoing technical support, troubleshooting, and guidance from an Indian support team that understands the needs of Indian institutions — not a generic global help-desk.

Does OpenLx meet government or institutional compliance requirements?

The Government of India's Policy on Adoption of Open Source Software establishes open source as the preferred option in comparison to closed source software. OpenLx Desktop is open-source software meeting the characteristics set out in that policy. That makes it well suited for government offices, educational and other institutions, and enterprises with strict compliance needs.

What about data safety during migration?

Our team works with your IT department to plan migration carefully, ensuring existing data, documents, and workflows transfer safely before any large-scale roll-out begins.

What about the functioning of Printers, Scanner and Digital Signature Certificates with OpenLx Linux?:

1. Printers & 2. Scanners: All major manufacturers of these devices, for Desktops, are giving compatibility across Operating Systems including Linux for more than 5 years now. If there is an older printer still working somewhere, we can surely try to make that work on Linux in most cases, with the tools available on web within the Migration & AMC services.
3. Now, Digital Signing can be done, on Linux. With additional subscribed software, it can even be done remotely through a smart-phone or Computer.

What kind of support is available for Indian language fonts with OpenLx Linux?:

With complete support and free-fonts available in the following languages, it serves the purpose widely and easily: Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Gurmukhi (Punjabi), Hindi, Kannada, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu.

Can we still use Chrome or other browsers instead of Firefox?:

Absolutely. OpenLx comes with Mozilla Firefox pre-installed, but you're free to add Chrome or any other Linux-compatible browser your organization prefers.

Who do we contact to start a pilot or request a demo?:

Reach out through our Contact page with your organization's details and desktop count — our team will get back to you within 1–2 business days to plan a pilot or demo.

What if we are a large user and need a PoC?:

Yes — and it costs you nothing. We will install OpenLx on a sample of your own machines, in your own departments, with your own applications and users, over four to six weeks, entirely at our cost. There is no purchase order and no obligation to proceed. Write to us with your desktop count and we will propose a plan.