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

[Babar Zahoor]

Dear Glenn,

Thanks for this information.

Regards,
Babar
On Feb 2, 2014 6:55 PM, "Glenn McKnight" <mcknight.glenn at gmail.com> wrote:

> .
> 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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