UK councils
dump Windows for Linux ZDNet Jun 6 2003 9:09AM ET
The move has particular significance
since the council last year completed a successful e-government
'pathfinder' project involving a group of neighbouring councils:
Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Redbridge, Thanet, Tower
Hamlets and Waltham Forest.
"If this is seen to work in Newham, it
has the potential to be a significant project, changing the
perceptions of other councils," said Tim Dawes, director of local
government technology consultants Nineveh.
Nottingham is set to decide on new
software for its 6,500 desktop PCs by the end of 2003 and confirmed
to E-Government Bulletin this week that open source solutions are
being considered. The news follows the council's successful
migration to a Linux-based email system last year, after suffering
numerous problems with its proprietary system.
According to technology manager Richard
Heggs, shifting to open source messaging has cut costs by at least
a third, a saving that would be repeated for desktops.
Looks like the municipalities
figured out the cost-benefits of Linux vs. Windows much quicker
than the corporates.