Michael Cross (no relation) reports on the announcement of a shift in the UK government’s attitudes to Open Source software.
The Treasury’s Office of Government Commerce (OGC), set up to get better value from government procurements, will today announce that open source is a “viable desktop alternative for the majority of users” and that it can generate “significant savings”. Interoperability with other systems is “not now a major issue”. The report also found potential “green” benefits because open source software can prolong the life of computer hardware.
But he also adds
Whitehall is likely to use the new policy as a stick to negotiate better deals from Microsoft, which is expected to sign a new three-year discount deal across the government.
The actual report is here.