Beyond the United States and Europe, cost is a significant motivator for governments to transition to open-source software. However, this is not the only reason.
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| Source: Microsoftwatch |
Mr. Rishab Ghosh, head of the open-source research project at the Maastricht Economic Research Institute in the Netherlands, recently conducted a comparison of software licensing costs with a country’s GDP per capita.
The results indicated that even after discounts, the cost of legally purchasing software in developing markets remains prohibitively high. For instance, the price of Microsoft Windows XP and Office XP on Amazon.com in the U.S. is equivalent to three months of GDP per capita in South Africa and more than 16 times the GDP per capita in Vietnam. In the U.S., this situation is akin to paying up to $7,541 or $48,011.
In summary, even if Microsoft claims to have “generously” reduced software prices for favorable markets, these products remain luxuries, and there is no guarantee that such discount policies will last indefinitely.
In developed markets, transitioning to open-source software involves substantial costs for businesses, governments, and individuals to replace old systems, update relevant applications, and retrain staff. However, in developing markets, these three steps do not occur, making them more open to “open-source” as a natural progression.
Moreover, a significant advantage of open-source software is that it allows developing countries the opportunity to revitalize their domestic IT industries. This is particularly important as these nations often lack robust software industries or have very weak ones.
“Local companies are handcuffed by proprietary services and software. Deep support, bug fixes, customizations to client specifications, or broad integrations with other software—these are things they cannot do with Microsoft,” Ghosh stated.
Additionally, with open-source software, countries can develop operating systems in their local languages, thus spreading computer literacy to remote and underdeveloped areas. For example, the South African government has funded a project to translate OpenOffice.org into 11 languages used in the country. This project is nearing completion, while Microsoft Office 2003 only supports one of those languages: English.
“From the perspective of a developing country, open-source is extremely effective for localization. Meanwhile, Microsoft only offers concessions after considering how large the market is and how strategically important it is,” noted James Governor, an analyst at Red Monk.
1. China: Domestic Software for Domestic Users
The Chinese government plans to provide over 140,000 Linux computers to primary and secondary schools across Jiangsu Province. This agreement was announced at the Sun Wah Linux seminar in October 2005 and is regarded as the largest desktop Linux deployment campaign in Asia to date.
According to commitments made upon joining the WTO, China is obligated to replace previous pirated software versions with legal software. However, to lessen its dependence on foreign proprietary products, China has decided to replace at least some Windows programs with Linux.
Many local and central government agencies have begun installing open-source software, including the Ministry of Science, the National Bureau of Statistics, the National Labor Commission, and the Beijing Municipal Committee. This transition to Linux has been widely reported in the media.
In addition to Linux, the Chinese government supports many other open-source products, including NeoShine, a Chinese variant of OpenOffice.org. OpenOffice itself has been included in the government’s list of priority office products.
The strong backing for domestic software is viewed by analysts as a decisive factor in the rise of open-source in China, even though there are no regulations prohibiting the use of Microsoft products.
A series of initiatives and research projects on open-source have received government funding. Last year, the Ministry of Information Technology established the Open Source Software Promotion Alliance to encourage the development of the open-source software industry in China. International collaborations in the open-source field have also been promoted, with partners like South Korea, Japan, and the French Atomic Energy Commission.
According to Gartner analyst DiMaio, the Chinese government’s fondness for open-source is driven by two main reasons: cost-effectiveness and benefits for the domestic software industry. Additionally, cultural and political factors also motivate the country to pursue an “open-source friendly” policy.
2. India: Speak in Your Own Way (and Language)
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The Indian government has funded an initiative to distribute free CDs containing open-source software. Approximately 3.5 million CDs with open-source applications in Tamil and another 3.5 million CDs in Hindi have been distributed to the community.
Moreover, the government plans to continue distributing software CDs in all 22 officially recognized languages used in the country.
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Source: Linux-mag.com |
It can be said that in this South Asian country, open-source software is being widely installed in both central and state governments. Notably, states appear to be more open and proactive about embracing the idea of open-source, while the central government maintains a more “neutral” stance.
Maharashtra, the third largest state in India, has installed OpenOffice.org on thousands of desktops and uses Linux in local treasury and land management.
Meanwhile, Kerala has also adopted open-source software for many e-government initiatives. Numerous schools in the state are fully utilizing Linux computers.
A center named the Open Source Software Research Center has been established by the government to develop open-source software and accompanying training programs. They have also created a website to share the government’s experiences in the open-source transition.
The President of India, Mr. APJ Abdul Kalam, has frequently praised open-source whenever possible. Last year, he urged the military to adopt open-source to combat cybersecurity threats. The year before that, he expressed disappointment over the prevalence of proprietary software like Windows in India.
However, analysts note that the Indian government must still pursue a relatively neutral policy toward open-source, as they do not want to offend their largest trading partner—the United States. The raw outsourcing industry is vital to the Indian economy, with the top 20 IT service firms generating $5.77 billion in export value in 2004.
Observers also add that this policy is heavily influenced by continuous lobbying from Microsoft. The software giant has generously collaborated with many Indian outsourcing firms, including Infosys.
Nonetheless, if India is determined to pursue open-source, Microsoft could face real troubles, as India boasts a large pool of highly skilled and professional software engineers, surpassing any other developing country. Furthermore, there is a strong desire among the populace to control their own technology rather than remain customers.
3. Microsoft’s Response
In light of the trend of several governments switching from Windows and Office to open-source software, Microsoft has decided to counter this situation with a new strategy aimed at government IT markets. This sector is facing fierce competition, and it seems that open-source is gaining the upper hand.
Microsoft’s goal is to assist governments in building IT systems that are less costly while better serving the public.
According to the plan, the new strategy, named Public Services and E-Government, will focus on the “core” capabilities of government IT management, including identity management, customer relationship management, document management, etc.
This initiative is part of the Connected Government Framework that Microsoft is striving to build, aimed at supporting governments in developing more cost-effective IT systems that still serve the public well.
To implement the new strategy, Microsoft will partner with WiSeKey in the area of digital identity management, and with Accenture and Avanade to replace paper documents with modern automated and electronic technologies.
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