[linux-government] [newsarticle] http://www.vnunet.com/comment/1159304

[...]

Linux takes a dose of reality

Government gets closer to Microsoft

Many of the most vocal open-source evangelists have been pinning their hopes 
on the public sector to gain a foothold against Microsoft.

So the news that government users can now purchase Microsoft licences at an 
even lower price - thanks to the latest NHS contract invoking a new volume 
discount level - will be seen as a blow to their hopes.

The commercial argument has long been a weak spot for Linux. There is a lot 
more to a decision than whether the base software is 'free' or not. Novell 
and Red Hat can bring some extra contractual nous to bear, but Microsoft is 
tying up the lucrative deals in the meantime.

The state of the technical argument is also becoming clearer. Open source is 
increasingly perceived as a genuine, but niche, desktop alternative.

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has proclaimed open-source as a viable 
technical option for public sector PCs, and the NHS has a deal in place with 
Sun Microsystems for 5,000 desktops - but that is a drop in a considerable 
ocean when the health service then buys 900,000 Windows licences.

The hope for the open-source community is that some of its leaders are 
adopting a more realistic view of their prospects, instead of the strident 
'Linux is best, Microsoft is the devil' calls we have been used to hearing.

In his interview with Computing this week, Stuart Cohen, chief executive of 
international Linux consortium Open Systems Development Labs, says 
open-source is ideal for 'fixed-function' users - those needing just basic 
features such as email and browsing. He admits there is work needed in 
functions that are important for commercial and government users such as 
mobile computing and collaboration.

This new realism will be vital for the next stage of the debate if Linux is to 
take a meaningful role as a mainstream alternative to Windows. The technical 
community around open-source has been its strength to date, but buying 
decisions are made on a commercial basis, and this is where the proponents of 
Linux have most ground to make up.

[...]

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