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The European Commission-sponsored report which urged organisations to consider deploying open-source software has won widespread support from key industry figures.
The report,
released last week, said the total cost of ownership of deploying open
source was less than the cost of running proprietary software, in
"almost all" cases. In a hefty tome, a team of academics from the
United Nations University in Maastricht, Netherlands, spelt out many
benefits of open-source software and tried to quantify its contribution
to the European economy.
The European Commission-sponsored report which urged organisations to consider deploying open-source software has won widespread support from key industry figures.
The report,
released last week, said the total cost of ownership of deploying open
source was less than the cost of running proprietary software, in
"almost all" cases. In a hefty tome, a team of academics from the
United Nations University in Maastricht, Netherlands, spelt out many
benefits of open-source software and tried to quantify its contribution
to the European economy.
Simon Phipps, chief
open-source officer at Sun, said the report brought "cold, hard facts"
to the debate of whether open source was a feasible alternative for
businesses. "There is a lot to praise in this report, in particular the
assertion that the EU seeks to eliminate discrimination against open
source, which has unwittingly crept into processes in the EU," Phipps
told ZDNet UK.
"It flies in the face of FUD [fear,
uncertainty and doubt] that reactionary companies are bringing to the
debate," Phipps added, declining to clarify if he was referring to
Microsoft. "You've got FUD that switching to OpenOffice brings new
costs. This shows that switching to OpenOffice saves a tremendous
amount of money. The report helps businesses that were wary because of
FUD to realise that it really is FUD and that they can really save
money."
The academics who wrote the report analysed
how several different European organisations use OpenOffice, and looked
to see whether migration and training costs outweighed the saving made
by not paying a licence fee for Microsoft Office. They found no
evidence that productivity suffered through the use of OpenOffice, and
also found that moving to open source software delivered cost savings
"in almost all cases".
Laurent Lachal, an open-source
software analyst with Ovum, shared Phipps's optimistic view of the
report. "The study is very positive to open source. A lot of
closed-source vendors will be a bit miffed. It shows that open source
is now mainstream and that it's nothing to fear and something to take
into account in everyday business decisions in procuring software."
Lachal
continued: "The European Commission definitely has an open-source
agenda, although its business is to remain neutral. It is managing the
process to ensure that open source is taken seriously. There is an
underlying ambition to boost the European software industry that hasn't
been particularly strong in the past."
But Lachal did
urge caution over the assertion in the report that total cost of
ownership was lower in 'almost all' cases. He said: "The debate is a
very complex one. In the long run, there are a lot of things to take
into account. It depends on a case-by-case basis."
Lachal
was also critical of the report's blanket reasoning that the cost of
training would be a major expense in the first year of a migration to
open source. "It depends on where you start. Training is an issue, but
it depends on a case-by-case basis. If you are running Unix, the
training will be less than if you are running Windows," he said,
referring to the greater similarities for IT staff between open source
and Unix.
Mark Taylor, founder of the Open Source
Consortium, echoed his support for the Commission's work. "The report
is bang on the money," he said. "I absolutely welcome it. I'm pleased
they have recognised the economic benefits of open source."
Despite repeated requests for its response to the report, Microsoft had not commented at the time of writing.
Read the original article: http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/0,1000000121,39285535,00.htm
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