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[LUG] Microsoft monopoly in e-gov services

 

I've had a reply from the Gov on the register article a while ago. No attempt 
to answer my points about encouraging OSS. Worth looking at the Hansard 
link - it is not as bleak as it seemed to be, but it would be nice if Gov 
took the initiative occasionally. They seem to have a "services" view of the 
world.

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: FW: Microsoft monopoly in e-gov services
From: andrew.stott@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear Mr Berkeley

Angela Eagle has asked me to thank you for your email of 11 October and
to reply on her behalf.  I must apologise for the delay in replying.

The Minister is grateful for your interest in this, and if you have not
already done so she hopes that you will read her whole speech rather
than just the selective quotation in The Register - the whole debate can
be found at
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm071009/halltext/71009h0008.htm#07100932000004

You asked what "quality and security" cannot be provided by the Open
Source movement.  The Government's position is that whatever software it
uses - open source or proprietary - must meet the quality and security
requirements of the business application, and it is not prepared to
compromise those.   The same requirements apply to Microsoft as they we
do to Open Source.  This is by no means a barrier for Open Source - as
shown by the instances where Open Source is already in use in
Government.   But any additional costs of assuring security and quality
do need to be taken into account in the overall judgement on cost of
ownership.

You asked about support for non-Microsoft browsers.  For central
government the overall policy is to use open standards and to support
the web browsers (and browser versions) most used by our customers where
it is technically possible to do so.  If you would like to send me
details of the DEFRA URL that has caused you problems and the browser
(and version) that you are seeking to use I will raise the issue with my
DEFRA colleagues.

Finally you asked about how the Open Source community could address the
issues.  It is not really for the Government to tell the Open Source
community what to do - one of the strengths of the Open Source community
is that it is self-empowering.  However as Angela Eagle told Parliament,
the Government do want industry to put forward solutions using open
source where they can save the taxpayer money on a
total-cost-of-ownership basis; she suggested that the Open Source
community should work more closely with the IT services firms so that
they can integrate open source into the solutions they supply when they
contract with the Government.   We are already working with Intellect,
the trade association for the UK technology industry, to facilitate
this.

Yours Sincerely

Andrew Stott

Deputy Government Chief Information Officer
Cabinet Office
Admiralty Arch
London SW1
-----Original Message-----
From: Dave Berkeley 
Sent: 11 October 2007 17:50
To: EAGLE, Angela
Subject: Microsoft monopoly in e-gov services

Dear Angela

re: TheReg article on Microsoft monopoly in e-gov services

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/10/11/e-government_services_microsoft/

I am a software developer with over 20 years experience. I am concerned by 
your comment in this article:

"Some open source projects cannot meet our needs for quality or security, and 
we are not prepared to compromise on those,"

I'm curious to know what Microsoft provides in terms of "quality or security" 
that cannot be provided by the Open Source movement. Can you provide any 
examples of this?

I'm also curious to know why this excuses Government departments from 
providing web interfaces that work with browsers other than Microsoft's 
Internet Explorer. I came across an example of this myself this week - the 
DEFRA comments page does not allow editing of comments unless you use 
Microsoft IE.

If there are issues, how can the OSS community address them? Could
Government funding of OSS be used to kick-start local industry, rather
than spending cash on importing proprietary Microsoft solutions from the
US? This could save money, improve the quality of the software used by
Government, and help industry at the same time.

I would be interested in your thoughts on this.

Sincerely

Dave Berkeley
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