[Chapter-delegates] UK Government switch to Open Source Software

[Glenn McKnight]

.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/29/uk-government-plans-switch-to-open-source-from-microsoft-office-suite

Microsoft Office costs the UK government significant amounts every year,
says Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude. Photograph: Jonathan
Alcorn/Reuters

Ministers are looking at saving tens of millions of pounds a year by
abandoning expensive software produced by firms such as Microsoft.

Some £200m has been spent by the public sector on the computer giant's
Office suite alone since 2010.

But the Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude believes a significant
proportion of that outlay could be cut by switching to software which can
produce open-source files in the "open document format" (ODF), such as
OpenOffice and Google Docs.

Document formats are set to be standardised across Whitehall to help break
the "oligopoly" of IT suppliers, and improve communications between civil
servants.

The proposal is part of the coalition's drive to make its procurement more
effective and efficient.

Speaking at a cross-government event showcasing new
online<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/29/uk-government-plans-switch-to-open-source-from-microsoft-office-suite#>
services
on Wednesday, Maude will say: "The software we use in government is still
supplied by just a few large companies. A tiny oligopoly dominates the
marketplace.

"I want to see a greater range of software used, so civil servants have
access to the information they need and can get their work done without
having to buy a particular brand of software.

"In the first instance, this will help departments to do something as
simple as share documents with each other more easily. But it will also
make it easier for the public to use and share government information.

"So we have been talking to users about the problems they face when they
read or work with our documents - and we have been inviting ideas from
experts on how to solve these challenges."

Maude will add: "Technical standards for document formats may not sound
like the first shot in a revolution.

"But be in no doubt: the adoption of compulsory standards in government
threatens to break open Whitehall's lock-in to proprietary formats. In turn
we will open the door for a host of other software providers."

Maude will also hail changes designed to increase the number of small and
medium-sized companies (SMEs) winning public sector contracts.

He will highlight the creation of CloudStore - an online marketplace for
councils and other public bodies to buy software. Up to £10m a month is
being spent on the site, with more than half going to SMEs.

Saying the proportion of central government procurement from SMEs has risen
from 6% in 2010 to more than 10% now, Maude will add: "We know the best
technology and digital ideas often come fromsmall
businesses<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/29/uk-government-plans-switch-to-open-source-from-microsoft-office-suite#>
but
too often in the past they were excluded from government work.

"In the civil service there was a sense that if you hired a big
multi-national, who everyone knew the name of, you'd never be fired.

"We weren't just missing out on innovation, we were paying top dollar for
yesterday's technology.

"One great example of the potential from small businesses was when we
re-tendered a hosting<http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/29/uk-government-plans-switch-to-open-source-from-microsoft-office-suite#>
 contract.

"The incumbent big supplier bid £4m; a UK-based small business offered to
do it for £60,000.

"We saved taxpayers a whopping 98.5%. I don't think we can make savings of
that scale everywhere but hard-working people expect us to try as hard as
we possibly can."
Glenn McKnight
mcknight.glenn at gmail.com
skype  gmcknight
twitter gmcknight
.
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