Re:How about just doing your job (Score 1)

To me, part of the job is letting people know alternatives exist. It is up to them if they choose to use the alternatives, but I would certainly offer it to them and outline some of its benefits. Of course some of this will depend on the customer, it is the tech's job to make sure the alternative solution will let them function with all the functionality they had before. If some aspect of what the customer does prevents this, then the solution should not be forced on them.

I also think mentioning open alternatives that run on the Windows OS is a great step as well. Some people just don't want a lot of change at once. Change their browser and let them see how pleasant FireFox is. Later on, maybe they will be more open to changing Office around. As they become confident with the changes and recommendations you are making they might be more welling to consider a switch to Linux (again, if it is appropriate for them).