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Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Économiques
EXD / ITN
Open Source Software (OSS)
-A new possibility for Desktops in Administrations-
28.10.2004
2
Open Source Software (OSS)
-A new possibility for Desktops in Administrations-
Essay of the OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development)
28.10.2004
K a t h r i n N o a c k, OECD EXD/ITN/CSO [email protected]
OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE (OSS)........................................................................................................ 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................................................. 4
INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................................... 5
1. THE CURRENT SITUATION AT THE OECD .............................................................................................. 7
1.1 The software used in the OECD...................................................................................................... 7
1.2 Open Source Software used at the OECD....................................................................................... 7
1.3 Special needs of the OECD concerning software ........................................................................... 8
2. TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF OSS FOR DESKTOPS...................................................................................... 10
2.1 Functionality ................................................................................................................................. 10
2.1.1 OpenOffice.org (OOo) .................................................................................................. 10
2.1.2 An OSS-Alternative for Outlook .................................................................................. 11
2.1.3 OSS - Environment ....................................................................................................... 11
2.2 Compatibility................................................................................................................................. 12
2.2.1 Macros and forms.......................................................................................................... 12
2.2.2 Formats ......................................................................................................................... 12
2.2.3 Interoperability.............................................................................................................. 13
3. ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF OSS - COSTS .................................................................................................. 14
3.1 Hardware ...................................................................................................................................... 14
3.2 Software ........................................................................................................................................ 15
3.2.1 Free software................................................................................................................. 15
3.2.2 Special software ............................................................................................................ 15
3.2.3 Transfer of documents within software: ....................................................................... 16
3.3 Licence .......................................................................................................................................... 16
3.3.1 Licence costs................................................................................................................. 16
3
3.3.2 The General Public Licence (GPL)............................................................................... 16
3. 4 Technical support / Maintenance................................................................................................. 17
3.4.1 The Community of OSS................................................................................................ 17
3.4.2 Distributors: .................................................................................................................. 17
3.5 Personal support / Training:......................................................................................................... 18
3.6 Example for a possible approach on a Cost Matrix...................................................................... 19
4. STRATEGIC ASPECTS ............................................................................................................................ 20
4.1 Security.......................................................................................................................................... 20
4.2 Stability ......................................................................................................................................... 21
4.3 Legal Situation .............................................................................................................................. 21
4.3.1 Patents ........................................................................................................................... 21
4.3.2 External / Internal rules:................................................................................................ 22
4.4 Flexibility and Independence ........................................................................................................ 22
4.4.1 Vendor Independence ................................................................................................... 22
4.4.2 Permanent support......................................................................................................... 23
4.4.3 New applications........................................................................................................... 23
4.4.4 Viability ........................................................................................................................ 23
4.5 Influence on Staff .......................................................................................................................... 24
4.5.1 Working conditions....................................................................................................... 24
4.5.2 New qualifications ........................................................................................................ 24
4.5.3 Time for Migration........................................................................................................ 24
4.6 Migration Efforts........................................................................................................................... 25
4.6.1 Influence on IT staff...................................................................................................... 25
4.6.2 Influence on IT complexity........................................................................................... 25
4.6.3 Readjustment of documents / macros ........................................................................... 25
4.6.4 Availability of software ................................................................................................ 26
4.7 Influence on External Institutions ................................................................................................. 26
4.7.1 Compatibility ................................................................................................................ 26
4.7.2 Compatibility in the future............................................................................................ 26
4.8 Example for a Decision Support Matrix ....................................................................................... 27
CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 30
4
Executive Summary
One of the fastest changing sectors is the one of software. Especially the development of Open
Source Software (OSS), where the code of a programme can be seen and changed, leads to new
possibilities apart from propriety software vendors. This is an upcoming challenge for
administration and organisation such as the OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and
Development), who have to keep in touch with this movement and to choose the best option to
facilitate its work and to meet its needs.
The focuses of this essay are the problems and possible advantages of OSS as an option for
desktops. It is meant as a basis for a discussion and to help to come to a conclusion if it might be
interesting for an organisation to further investigate in new technological solutions. In the end, a
Decision Support Matrix is introduced that can be used as a tool to focus the discussion.
The essay describes the current situation of an institution in referring to the example of the
OECD. Then it explains the influences that might have an impact in case of a migration to OSS,
which are structured in technical, economic and strategic aspects. Examples of other migrations
of institutions and general guidelines of national administrations for possible changes to OSS are
given as a background to the single aspects.
The key factor of the outcome of the essay remains the compatibility of systems, especially in the
desktop environment, and the manageability of a possible attempt of a migration within the field
of information and communication technologies.
Key Decision Elements
1
11 Used slightly adapted in presentation by Peter Lubkert , EXD/ITN, for the OECD Informal ICT Management Workshop (20. - 21. 10. 2004): Session 1- Open Source Software - Software Strategy Challenges, slide 8.
Current situation • Special needs • Example:
OECD
Technical Aspects
• Functionality • Compatibility
Strategic Aspects
• Security • Stability • Viability • Flexibility • Independence
Economic Aspects
• Hardware, software, licenses
• Support, training, indirect costs, …
• Compatibility
Feasibility
5
Introduction
The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) is a knowledge-based
organisation and one of its many tasks is it to keep up to date with the technical, economical and
scientific developments to facilitate its work. It consists of 30 Member States and about 70
Associated Countries that work together to encounter the challenges of economic, social and
governmental problems. The OECD’s analytical and statistical publications are an important
factor of its reliability and provide the necessary background for guidelines and advice for
national administration in various fields, for example the complex sector technology.
As an administrative body the OECD itself also has to cope with new developments to provide
the best possible working environment for the committees. This fact refers especially to the IT
systems that are often the basis for the work of the OECD’s staff. EXD, the Executive
Department of the OECD is responsible for all questions of the infrastructure, the security, the IT
systems, the management of the conferences and the language and documentation services.
The task of managing the IT environment lies in the hands of ITN (Information Technology and
Network Services) that provides all the functionality concerning information and communication
technologies used in the OECD. They do not merely maintain the IT environment of the OECD
but also to give advice on technical questions and to make sure the organisation stays in touch
with the newest developments. This is crucial, as one of the fastest growing markets and most
changing economic fields is the one of software.
Some years ago, a new way of creating software appeared apart from companies who sell Closed
Source Software, where one cannot see or change the code of a programme:
In 1991, Linus Torvalds, a student from the University of Helsinki started to write a programme
adapting Minix, a smaller version of Unix, and published it in the internet to gather contributions
and advice from other interested people. This method of continuing discussion about and
contribution to the programme helped Linus to develop it into a successful operating system that
6
was then called Linux.2 Following his method, other initiatives sprang to life to write new code
for programmes that were meant to be free to look at and even change for everybody. As there
was no commercial aspect behind it, they were also mostly free of cost. As these programmes
were often published under the GNU (def.: “GNU is not UNIX”) or General Public License
(GPL)3, their code was open to everybody and could be altered as long as the new version also
was published under the GNU license. Therefore this kind of software was named Open Source
Software (OSS). With time, this new kind of software challenged even huge vendors of Closed
Source Software such as Microsoft, especially on the internet server market.
However, Open Source Software (OSS) increases its influence also on the market for operating
systems and desktop applications. Some companies and administrations change their systems
from Closed Source to Open Source; they undertake a so-called migration. This term can be used
in a different way considering the context. It can describe all kinds of changes within of the
technological systems of an institution of any sort.
Even big administrations as the Ministère de l’Equipment of France4 or the City of Munich in
Germany5 want to migrate or are already changing their IT (Information Technology) systems to
Open Source Software. Many countries of the OECD, such as Australia, France, Germany or the
Netherlands have passed guidelines or advice for a possible use of OSS for the administrations
who might consider OSS in their procurement strategy.
Within OSS lie a lot of possibilities and risks that are basis for an ongoing discussion in all sorts
of institutions, as well as in the OECD. Especially the migration from propriety software to Open
Source Software on the desktops is a sensitive aspect of the dispute, because that has the
strongest impact on the end-users in front of the Personal Computers and therefore the whole
work of an organisation.
2 Eric S. Raymond: “A Short History of Hackerdom” in: “The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary”, Revised Edition; O’Reilly and Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, USA, 2001; p 15. 3 http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html (3.9.2004) 4 http://www.adae.gouv.fr/adele/ (17.10.2004) 5 http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/referate/dir/limux/89256/ (7.9.2004)
7
1. The current situation at the OECD
1.1 The software used in the OECD Microsoft products are currently the most used in desktop and related server areas:
• Operating systems: Microsoft Windows XP
• Desktop applications: Microsoft Office Suite XP Professional, Microsoft Explorer,
Microsoft Outlook
• Servers: Windows 2000, MS “Active Directory” directory service, SQL server
database engine, Internet Information Server (IIS) web server and Exchange e-
mail.
• Also Development languages – Visual Basic, ASP, C#, .NET, ...
• Non-Microsoft products also used for important applications:
o Lotus Notes/Domino for Committee extranet: document databases,
Electronic Discussion Groups (EDGs), etc.
o Vignette for OECD web site content management
o Administrative and financial systems based on PeopleSoft and SAP6
1.2 Open Source Software used at the OECD
Open Source software used in some critical back-office applications and more
recently, as new platform for analytical apps and for ICT security, Internet services
and network monitoring :
• Mainly for Back-Office applications.
• Linux and OSS products in the area of:
o Internet gateway functions (DNS, NEWS, HTTP Services)
o Intrusion detection (SNORT) and spam filtering (SPAMASSASSIN)
o Content analysis, Inter-/Intranet caching (SQUID)
• Open Source products such as BIND, SENDMAIL, INN (News) were already
used under HP-UX.
• Software such as Samba & GHOSTview/script is available to end-users.
6 Peter Lubkert: OECD Software Sourcing Strategy, 3.12.2003, pp 8,9
8
• OSS used heavily in support of analytical applications (Economical department)
• Econometric modelling programmes like Troll run on Linux platforms.
• Today 10% of the servers work under Linux for back-office applications and under
Apache for web services, e.g. two proxy server as security mechanism between the
intranet and the internet. 7
Overall view: Software at the OECD8:
1.3 Special needs of the OECD concerning software
Analytical tools like econometric and statistical programmes:
One of the tasks of the OECD is the collection and surveillance of the economic, political
and administrative information of its Member States and Associated Countries. This is
accomplished with the help of statistical and econometric tools, e.g. the software Troll.
All these programmes are very important for the organisation and have to run under any
operating system safely.
Outlook as a management tool:
In the OECD’s headquarters in Paris work currently ca. 2300 people.9 They are connected
through the organisation’s intranet and communicate mainly via E-mail and the calendar
7 Peter Lubkert: OECD Software Sourcing Strategy, 3.12.2003, pp 17-19 8 Peter Lubkert: OECD Software Sourcing Strategy, 3.12.2003, p 6 9 http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/23/2397890.ppt , presentation of the OECD, 28.9.2004.
Desktop Servers Applications • Office
productivity tools
• Analytical • E-mail • Web
browser
• File & Print • Database • Exchange • Admin,
Financial • Statistical
warehouse
• ICT security and “network edge” functions
• Macroeconomic modelling, e.g. Troll
• ComTrade application
• Interlink
Operating system
Windows XP Windows 2000 Linux HP-UX (UNIX)
Architecture Intel Intel Intel HP RISC
9
provided by Microsoft Outlook. This programme is an essential management tool for the
basic working life of the OECD. Whatever possible alternative will be discussed, it must
be able to provide similar functionality.
Compatibility of macros and formats used by administrations throughout the world:
The OECD publishes guidelines, statistics and economic information about its Member
Countries and Associated States. That is in fact an amount of up to 11 000 documents a
year, which have to fulfil certain standards. These are accomplished through macros and
forms, of which many are in the .xls format of Excel. The publications also have to be
transferable to the IT systems of the different Member States and Associated Countries.
Therefore, the compatibility of the formats is essential.10
Compatibility with the technique and knowledge of the Member Countries, their
delegations and administrations:
There are not only the OECD’s documents that have to be transferable to other
administrations. There are also numerous contacts through E-mail, Electronic Discussion
Groups (EDGs) and OECD intranet, the Committees’ extranet and, of course, the
internet.11 All these have to be compatible to the IT systems of the Member States’
administrations and especially their delegations permanently working with the OECD.
Personal management: high turnover of staff, coming from all over the world:
Staff working at the OECD headquarters in Paris comes from different nations.
Additionally, there is a high turnover of staff of about 9% each year.12 These people
mainly work with the computers and needs to know the desktop environment and its
applications well. Most of the people already have experience with Microsoft Office when
they arrive at the OECD. They would need extra training or at least some time to get used
to new applications.
All these aspects influence the discussions of a migration of the desktops to OSS. To change
the tools the whole staff of an administration such as the OECD is used to, means a great
impact on the work and the whole atmosphere within the organisation and is therefore a
particular challenge.
10 Douglas Paterson: meeting of 17.9.2004; OECD Software Sourcing Strategy (3.12.2003), p 21. 11Peter Lubkert: OECD Software Sourcing Strategy, 3.12.2003, p 9 12 OECD Staff Profile Statistics, 2003: http://web.oecd.org/hrmweb/managers/docs/2003staffprofilee.pdf , 28.9.2004.
10
2. Technical aspects of OSS for desktops
2.1 Functionality
2.1.1 OpenOffice.org (OOo) OpenOffice.org is the OSS alternative to StarOffice, a commercial desktop application of
SUN. It provides functionality comparable to the Microsoft Office suite and is the leading
OSS product for desktop solutions. It can run on both, Linux and Microsoft Windows and
is able to transfer most Microsoft Office documents. Additionally, it can work with PDF
files. The soon-to-come version 2.0 of OOo will also emphasize the standard open format
.XML as a possible solution to convert Microsoft documents in OOo documents and back,
as Sophie Gautier, head of the French Native Language Project and a member of the
OpenOffice.org's governing board, informed the OECD.13 OpenOffice.org runs under the
LGPL (Lesser General Public Licence) and can therefore adopt fragments of other
software licences, even of Closed Software, next to the most common Open Source
licence, the GPL (General Public Licence). As OOo is the most used OSS application for
desktops, its features will be considered in the following.14
• Writer - an alternative for Word:
The application for text documents provided by OOo is Writer. It has a similar
design to Microsoft Word and most of the features are the same. Still, this does not
apply for everything and people would have to get used to it, as evaluations with
groups of end-users notice. A good feature of Writer is its possibility to create PDF-
files within the programme. To do this in Word, one has to purchase extra features
separately such as the PDF Creator or the PDF Distiller.
A good example for an evaluation is the survey eWEEK evaluations (eVAL) did in
2003 with a group of end-users in an American company FN Manufacturing Inc.,
where they built up groups of different levels of knowledge about the applications
13 Interview: Sophie Gautier -Louis Suárez-Potts, 2004-09-12: http://www.openoffice.org/editorial/sophie_gautier.html, 24.09.2004. 14 Other OSS desktop applications are KOffice: http://www.kde.org (23.9.2004) and GnomeOffice: http://www.gnome.org/ (23.9.2004).
11
and let them test the updates of Microsoft Office 98 to Office 2003 and OOo.15 The
Migrationsleitfaden des Bundesministeriums des Innern (Migration Guideline of the
Ministry for Internal Affairs of Germany) comes to a comparable result.16
• Calc – an alternative for Excel:
In this case, the evaluations come to the same conclusions as they do for Writer. But
here the opinion of professional users for Excel was more pronounced, stating that
they were more satisfied with the updated versions of Microsoft Excel than with
Calc. Especially if they transferred more complex macros, they had to readjust them
to fit their purposes.
• Impress – an alternative for PowerPoint:
Impress is less similar to PowerPoint as Writer is to Word. The icons are different
and therefore end-users need more time to adapt to them. But if an organisation
considers a migration to OOo as an alternative for an update from Office 98/2000 to
2003, the users would also have to find their way through the update, which has
significant changes to the older versions.
2.1.2 An OSS-Alternative for Outlook There is a new project within the OSS community to create OpenXchange – a programme
to compete with Microsoft Outlook. People have not gathered much experience with it
and if it is used, very often with Mozilla as an internet application next to it. So it is not
for certain if OpenXchange can provide the same tools as Microsoft Outlook at the
moment.17
2.1.3 OSS - Environment OpenOffice.org itself is only the office application. There is still the matter of an
environment running with Open Source Software. The most popular environments are
15 By Jason Brooks, April 26, 2004: eWEEK - Comparison Office 2003 vs. OpenOffice.org:, Survey of eVAL with a group of end-users of a machining manufacturer FN Manufacturing Inc., in Columbia, USA: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1571626,00.asp (9.9.2004) and the follow-up links. 16 Migrationsleitfaden des Bundesministeriums des Innern (Migration Guideline of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Germany), Leitfaden fuer die Migration der Basissoftwarekomponenten auf Server- und Arbeitsplatzsystemen, Version 1.0 – Juli 2003, Schriftenreihe der KBSt, ISSN 0179-7263, Band 57; chapter 3.15, pp 227-278. 17 For further information: http://mirror.open-xchange.org/ox/EN/community/ (27.9.2004)
12
KDE (K Desktop Environment)18 and Gnome19. Both use similar designs as does
Microsoft Windows, but still, they are not exactly the same. Both environments are only
running on Linux or UNIX operating systems. So they can only be used if the whole
system is changed to OSS. There also exist Office suites for both environments (KOffice
and GnomeOffice), but OOo can also run on them.
2.2 Compatibility
2.2.1 Macros and forms Though one can transfer most documents from Microsoft Office into OpenOffice.org,
they are not 100% compatible. The more complex documents and especially macros are,
the more work is necessary to readjust them in the new environment. This is especially the
case with complicated Excel macros concerning tables and statistics, which are often used
in the OECD and therefore are an essential part of the organisation’s tasks.20
There have been troubles with migration in different administrations. The police of the
federal state of Lower Saxony, Germany, was reported to have problems as their system
was not working properly after their migration.21 But there are a lot of possibilities why
problems of this kind can arise anywhere. One cannot say for sure if a reason might be
pure technical incompatibility or a lack of training and guidance for the people who have
to work with the new software.
2.2.2 Formats OpenOffice.org supports and is able to create the PDF-format22 and can transfer the
common Microsoft formats, e.g. .xls (Excel), .doc and .rtf (Word), into its own. It also
works with the help of the open standard format of .XML to make documents compatible.
18 http://www.kde.org/ (23.9.2004) 19 http://www.gnome.org/ (23.9.2004) 20 By Jason Brooks, April 26, 2004: eWEEK - Comparison Office 2003 vs. OpenOffice.org:, Survey of eVAL with a group of end-users of a machining manufacturer FN Manufacturing Inc., in Columbia, USA: http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1571626,00.asp (9.9.2004) and the follow-up links. Migrationsleitfaden des Bundesministeriums des Innern (Migration Guideline of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Germany), Leitfaden fuer die Migration der Basissoftwarekomponenten auf Server- und Arbeitsplatzsystemen, Version 1.0 – Juli 2003, Schriftenreihe der KBSt, ISSN 0179-7263, Band 57; chapter 3.15, pp 227-278. 21 http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/42125 (7.9.2004). 22 http://www.uni-protokolle.de/Lexikon/OpenOffice.org.html (6.10.2004)
13
.XML divides the template, e.g. the layout, from the content of the document and
therefore makes it easier to transfer it. Even Microsoft Office 2003 can work with .XML
files, a functionality that will probably be fostered in coming versions.23
Formats of the most important Office applications24:
Document MS Office Format OpenOffice.org/
StarOffice
Format
Text Word .doc /.dot Writer .sxw / .stw
Table / statistics Excel .xls / .xlt Calc .sxc / .stc
Presentation PowerPoint .ppt / .pot Impress .sxi / .sti
2.2.3 Interoperability It is essential, that all existing systems work together fluently. Therefore a change
between Microsoft and OSS can only be achieved by a migration rather than a revolution.
Especially in this period the compatibility of the systems is crucial. There is software to
help with this task.
• One of these is VMWare25 that simulates a new operating system next to another.
Terminal Servers are another possibility that would give the administrator the ability
to make adjustments within the end-user’s computer.
• WINE26 or Win4Lin27 are also specialised software to make it possible to run Linux
next to Windows and even Microsoft Office on Linux. All these systems have the
potential to facilitate the migration.
• In most cases, there is not only Microsoft and Linux which are connected with each
other. The OECD, for example, runs its servers also on HP-UX and Apache servers.
In this multi-tier environment, interoperability is one of the major challenges.
23 http://www.microsoft.com/office/xml/default.mspx (7.10.2004) 24 Adapted from: Migrationsleitfaden des Bundesministeriums des Innern (Migration Guideline of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Germany); chapter 3.15, pp 231. 25 http://www.vmware.com/products/desktop/ws_features.html (15.9.2004) 26 http://www.winehq.com/ (23.9.2004) 27 http://www.netraverse.com/ , http://www.linspire.com/lindows_products_details.php?id=9291 (1.10.2004)
14
3. Economic aspects of OSS - Costs
Estimating the costs of a migration from Microsoft to OSS is very complex, as there are a
lot of factors to be considered. No migration is exactly the same, as different generations
of desktop applications have to be changed, e.g. from Microsoft Office 98 to 2003 or to
OpenOffice.org. The costs also vary according to the size of the administration. As the
Migration Guideline of the German Ministry of the Interior specifies, the migration costs’
per unit tend to be less the bigger the size of the administration.28 There is also the aspect
of how specified the organisation works. At first, all the questions to the current status
should be answered thoroughly (compare chapter 1. The Current Situation at the OECD).
The price of migration also varies if it is done fast and without a period in between where
both environments are available or as a “soft migration”, where more time is allowed to
change between the different systems. As an example for the possible costs an
organisation is up to, the Migration Guideline comes for the case of the administrations of
Germany to the following presumptions per unit29:
Administration Fast Migration per unit Soft Migration per unit
Small (up to 250 people, little specialised)30 € 500 € 850
Medium (250 – 1000 people, IT department, network)31 € 340 € 730
Big (over 1000 people, central backup server, IT
department, network, central data processing centre, special
security systems)32
€ 180 € 600
3.1 Hardware A migration to OSS will only be possible if the hardware is compatible to the new
software. The costs to update the technique to the necessary standard vary with the age of
the devices currently used. This refers to the normal computer of the end-user, the servers
as well as to peripherals as printers, scanners and various other devices. Generally, the
28 Migrationsleitfaden des Bundesministeriums des Innern (Migration Guideline of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Germany); chapter 4.6, p 307. 29 Adapted from p 307 30 See above: chapter 4, p 302. 31 See above: p 303. 32 See above: p 303.
15
older they are, the more expensive the migration will be as more equipment has to be
changed.
This point does not only apply to a migration from Microsoft to OSS, it also applies for an
update from Windows98 / Office98 to WindowsXP / OfficeXP. The newest Microsoft
versions tend to run only on new computers. Linux / OpenOffice.org, on the contrary, can
still run sufficiently on an older computer with a central processing unit of 500 MHz and
an active store of 256 MB.33 An update of Microsoft may be more expensive considering
the hardware than a change to OSS would be. However, special devices such as some
printers or scanners might only work on Microsoft. This varies according to the kind of
product and has to be considered in each case differently.
3.2 Software
3.2.1 Free software The software of OSS is free in the sense as in “free speech”. That does not necessarily
mean free of charge in all cases. But true enough, there are no licence costs. Also desktop
environments like KDE and office applications like OpenOffice.org are free of charge.
But there are special distributions like SUSE, which still cost money. Distributions are
also often sold together with the maintenance and are partly commercial.34 If an
organisation decides to migrate, it has to keep in mind, that though some OSS such as
Linux and OpenOffice.org are free, most distributions are not, but they might be more
easily attached.
3.2.2 Special software However, there are also other kinds of software that have to run on the new operating
systems of Linux and maybe have to be able to co-operate with OOo documents. This
software also has to be adapted. In the case of the OECD, some special programmes are
already running on Linux, like the econometric software Troll. Others, such as SMS as
central software to update all computers within the network, are from Microsoft and
33 Unilog Integrata: “Projekt: Client Sudie der Landeshauptstadt Muenchen, Kurzfassung des Abschlussberichts inklusive Nachtrag“ (Client Study of Munich, Capital of Bavaria, Germany; official summary); Version 1.3.2 (2.7.2003); p 12.
16
therefore would hardly work in an environment of Linux. The more such software exists
within an organisation the more expensive it gets to adapt it to the new environment or to
find suitable alternatives that will not be necessarily free and therefore increase the costs.
3.2.3 Transfer of documents within software: There will also be the problem of transferring the documents and macros. Not all of them
are 100% transferable and therefore will need extra work. Extra work costs money and
complex documents and macros have to be adjusted to make them compatible. The
Migration Study of the German Ministry of the Interior expects an extra workload of 40
minutes per document and up to 40 hours for complex macros.35 These costs may be
higher than the licence costs of propriety software in some cases.
3.3 Licence
3.3.1 Licence costs The licence costs of propriety software are one of the main arguments to change to OSS.
As there are not many vendors for operating systems and office applications, competition
is rare. There is no definitive answer on how much the licence will cost per unit, as the
contracts vary according to the size of each organisation and the offer of the vendor. The
Migration Guideline of Germany counts with € 116 licence costs for Windows and Office
per unit. 36 This value does not generally apply and might differ a lot according to each
case of update. Additionally, there will be various other kinds of costs, as mentioned in
this chapter.
3.3.2 The General Public Licence (GPL) The Linux kernel, the core programme of Linux, and many other Open Source software
run under the General Public Licence (or GPL), also known as GNU (definition: “GNU is
not UNIX”). Basically, its content defines the code of OSS as open and free to everybody.
It can be changed, but the changes still have to be available for everybody and have to be
34 http://www.suse.com/us/index.html (11-10-2004) 35 Migrationsleitfaden des Bundesministeriums des Innern (Migration Guideline of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Germany); chapter 4.8, p 335. 36 See above.
17
published under the GPL as well, as explained in the introduction. But an organisation can
keep changes to the code secret, for example for reasons of security, as long as it keeps
them for its own internal purposes and does not publish or even resell them.37 There are
also other OSS licences such as the Lesser General Public License (LGPL), which widens
the GPL and accepts other licences, even propriety ones, within its definition, but is still
free. OpenOffice.org, for example runs under LGPL.38
3. 4 Technical support / Maintenance
3.4.1 The Community of OSS The technical support that is provided for OSS varies from that of commercial vendors.
As there normally is no such thing as a “vendor” in the OSS world, the support must come
from within the community of “hackers”, as they prefer to call themselves. 39 These
people are not the ones breaking into private systems. They are the ones who write code
for OSS as a kind of hobby, share it through the internet, exchange ideas about it and fix
bugs, which are mistakes in the code, through peer-review. To get support for OSS also
means to get in contact with the community through the internet and find the group that is
currently working on the programme one has problems with. A good link to start with is
http://www.sourceforge.net, as one of the biggest community websites at the moment. As
complicated and insecure this might sound, it works in most cases and might be actually
faster as some commercial vendors’ support, as there are much more people to react on
the request. Additionally, it is completely free.
3.4.2 Distributors: Another possibility is to buy a distribution of OSS together with the support of a
commercial distributor. A distribution is a package of Open Source Software adjusted to
the organisation’s wants. This is not free of cost, but might facilitate gaining support, or at
least works in a similar way as under Microsoft as distributors are bound by contract. As
37 http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html (12.10.2004) 38 Interview: Sophie Gautier -Louis Suárez-Potts, 2004-09-12: http://www.openoffice.org/editorial/sophie_gautier.html, 24.09.2004. 39 Eric S. Raymond: “The Cathedral and the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary”, Revised Edition; O’Reilly and Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, USA, 2001; preface, p xii.
18
most distributors are accomplished companies on the market, there is no great risk in
choosing this solution. There are also many distributors to choose from, for example Red
Hat40, Novell, which supports the SuSE41distribution, Mandrake42 or Debian43. In some
cases, as for Debian or Mandrake44, even the distribution itself or parts of it are free of
charge, but support and maintenance are not.
3.5 Personal support / Training: The organisation faces costs for each migrating unit. About 90% of that is normally spent
on personal costs alone.45 It consists not only of training of the staff but also of the effort
that is necessary to migrate and the time lost on other projects while doing this. The last
items are hard to measure, especially in advance.
The point of the training of staff is crucial, as the migration can only succeed if the end-
users are satisfied with what they got for their accustomed programmes. As most of them
are used to work with Microsoft products, they have to be more flexible in case of a
migration to OSS than they would have with a normal update of Microsoft Office, for
example. This also refers to new staff coming to an organisation. As in the case of the
OECD the turnover rate of staff is approximately 9% per year and the people originate
from various countries46, they also would have to get used to the new tools and even need
extra training. There is the possibility to hire companies that are specialised in this kind of
training and advice.47 The training for the IT staff is at least as important. They are the
ones who have to get and keep the new systems running and they have to get the
necessary knowledge to do so. It may even be necessary for an organisation has to engage
specialised IT staff to maintain the new system and to adjust it to the organisation’s needs.
40 http://www.opensource.com/ (13.10.2004) 41 http://www.suse.com/us/index.html (13.10.2004) 42 http://www.mandrakesoft.com/ (13.10.2004) 43 http://www.debian.org/ (13.10.2004) 44 http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en-us/ (13.10.2004) 45 Migrationsleitfaden des Bundesministeriums des Innern (Migration Guideline of the Ministry for Internal Affairs of Germany); chapter 4.6, p 308. 46 Compare chapter 1.3. 47 For example StarXpert: http://www.starxpert.fr/ (8.9.2004)
19
3.6 Example for a possible approach on a Cost Matrix:
Possible Solutions XP/ XP* XP / OSS Linux / OSS
1 Startup Costs
1.1 Hardware
1.1.1 Servers
1.1.2 Clients
1.1.3 Network
1.1.4
Peripherals (e.g. printers, scanners)
1.2 Software
1.2.1 Servers
1.2.2 Desktop / Operating system
1.2.3 Network
1.2.4 Database
1.2.5 Groupware
1.2.6 Web / Security
1.2.7 Office
1.2.8 Others
1.3 License fees
1.4
Transfer of documents / macros
1.5 Training
1.5.1 Training of staff
1.5.2 Training of IT staff
Total
2 Operating Costs
2.1 Personal Support 2.1 Technical Support
2.2 Training of new staff
Total
Total of all *The possible solutions are a combination of either Windows XP or Linux as operating system and Office XP /
2003 or an OSS solution, e.g. OpenOffice.org, as office software.
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4. Strategic aspects
4.1 Security Security is one of the most important aspects in any discussion about software. Viruses,
Worms and Spam cause not only a lot of trouble, but also enormous economic losses each
year. The target of these attacks is normally Microsoft, as it is the biggest player in the
field and the impact is therefore the most visible. But there are also voices that criticize
Microsoft products as easy targets for assaults as they are said to have more bugs than
Linux, for example, and are built as huge complex programmes linked with each other, so
that an attack on one programme can equally affect others.48 This also applies to intruders
into the computer system.
On the other hand, OSS and especially Linux are not known to be cracked or victims of
viruses and intruders. The reason could be that this software is not yet as widely spread as
Microsoft, but when looking at the server market one has to revise that at least for this
section. The by far most spread type of server is the one from Apache, an OSS product,
that currently (October 2004) dominates the market with 67.92 % in front of Microsoft
that only reaches 21.09 %.49 Linux is also said to be better checked than Microsoft
programmes are. The code of Linux is free and open for everyone to see. If there are
mistakes, so-called bugs, in it, they will be found and fixed much faster within the
community than it is possible for one company with a limited number of staff. This fact
can additionally add to the stability of the whole complex and makes the data more
secure. 50
These advantages of OSS are widely used. The OECD, too, recognized the potential for a
high degree of security within OSS and works also with OSS back-office applications to
protect its system. OSS already runs in the OECD as Apache web servers, Postfix for E-
mails, Spam Assassin (anti-Spam programme) on Linux, IDS / SNORT as intrusion
detection systems and two proxy servers on Apache to protect the intranet.51
48 Eric S. Raymond: “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, Revised Edition; O’Reilly and Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, USA, 2001; p 210. 49 Netcraft internet survey: http://news.netcraft.com/archives/web_server_survey.html (14.10.2004) 50 Eric S. Raymond: “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, Revised Edition; O’Reilly and Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, USA, 2001: “Homesteading the Noosphere”, pp 65-111.
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4.2 Stability
For stability, the same factors as for security apply. The fewer mistakes a programme
code has, the more stable it is and the fewer troubles occur. Netcraft found out in a survey
in June 24, that the top 50 server that ran longest without a reboot were all OSS based.52
As explained above, bugs are fixed within peer-review within the community that uses
only the best ideas from a large pool of contributors. Or, as Eric S. Raymond defines it in
“The Cathedral and the Bazaar”: “Given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow.”53 He
names this as “Linus’s Law” after the Linus Torvalds,54 the inventor of Linux who came
up with the idea to write software, set it free in the internet and work together with other
“hackers” to improve it.
It is widely acknowledges that Linux is a stable operating system. But here, one has to
consider the version that is discussed. That counts for Linux as well as for Microsoft.
Problems often arise when Microsoft programmes and OSS such as Linux are running on
the same platform. Especially in the phase of a migration itself, troubles can appear
concerning the interoperability of the different systems. As mentioned before, the police
force of the Lower Saxony, federal state of Germany, was reported to faced problems
while migrating. Their systems broke down from time to time and special files and
macros could not be transferred properly.55
4.3 Legal Situation
4.3.1 Patents In August 2004, the city of Munich suddenly decided to postpone its migration to OSS
because of uncertainties with patent guidelines coming up. They found out, that there
might be problems with Linux contravening propriety software patents up to 50 times.
According to the Open Source Risk Management Association, Linux may even infringe
51 OECD Software Sourcing Strategy, 3.12.2003; pp 17-18. 52 UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: “Free and Open Source Software: Policy and Development Implications”, TD/B/COM.3/EM.21/2 (17.8.2004), chapter 5.38., p 10. 53 Eric S. Raymond: “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, Revised Edition; O’Reilly and Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, USA, 2001: p 30. 54 See above. 55 http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/42125 (14.10.2004)
22
283 patents.56 This could even lead to serious lawsuits. That is mostly the case in the
United States, where it is possible to possess patents on software.57 As the European
Union (EU) also plans a guideline to patent software, this might cause troubles. 58 It is not
passed yet, but the Council already came to an agreement on that subject.59 However, it is
not certain how far this guideline will influence the GPL and OSS. It is meant to be very
strict and not to undermine free inventions within the OSS community. But if it is passed,
big companies selling propriety software will probably try to take advantage of it.
Nevertheless, the Council of Munich agreed upon going on with its plans to migrate to
OSS in September 2004.60 The patent situation remains not only an uncertainty, but it can
also have a great economic impact if companies of commercial software could claim
rights at OSS like Linux. It is still not certain how many risks lie beneath the subject.
4.3.2 External / Internal rules: Administrations follow in general certain bureaucratic rules and standards. The new
system also must fulfil those. Additionally, there are external laws to oblige to, for
example laws for the protection of information or the security of private data.
4.4 Flexibility and Independence
4.4.1 Vendor Independence Many discussions about OSS emphasize the topic of vendor independence. This can be an
argument to change from one software vendor, which binds the user to certain software, to
a more flexible IT environment with more than one vendor and technical advisor. When
using Microsoft programmes, it is quite clear who is the vendor and supporter of the
product and possesses the rights to code and license. As with OSS, the structures of
purchase may be more complex, yet there are various distributors, of which one can
choose. The competition between the distributors is still relevant and may have an
56 http://news.zdnet.co.uk/software/linuxunix/0,39020390,39162716,00.htm (12.10.2004) 57 http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/0,2000061733,20274790,00.htm (10.9.2004) 58 http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/indprop/comp/softanalyse.pdf (7.9.2004) 59 http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/47477 (7.9.2004) 60http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=581&e=1&u=/nm/20040928/tc_nm/tech_germany_patents_dc, http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18738 (29.9.2004)
23
influence on the prices and the quality of the offers. However the choice, after deciding to
work with a special distribution one will have a binding contract with the distributor.
4.4.2 Permanent support Flexibility and independence are important aspects; on the other hand it is necessary to be
sure about the continuity of support. Still, there are numerous distributors, which have
quite a long history in the market and it is possible to change, as the products are often
similar and through the open code adaptations are often possible, if one distributor ceases
to exist. There is always a risk that this might happen, but that can also occur with a
vendor of propriety software.
4.4.3 New applications Every kind of user appreciates an easy access to updates and new applications that should
possibly be of little expense. These things can be found within the OSS community,
which normally fixes bugs as soon as possible and offers often new applications for free.
As the only binding contracts exist with the provider of support or a distribution, there is
more flexibility what updates and new applications one would prefer. There is also no
need to switch to a newer version, as contracts are flexible and it is not the vendor who
decides when a version will not get any more support. As long as somewhere in the
community people take care about a programme, one is not dependent on one single
vendor for support.
4.4.4 Viability Open Source Software was named after the open code, which means that anyone can look
at it and change it. In the case of OSS, the user does not purchase something he or she
cannot control or change. So the code can be adjusted to the company’s or institution’s
needs. That is the main advantage of Open Code over Closed Code. Even if an institution
does not have the possibilities or the want to change the OSS programme, this might be
useful in the future. The Open Code also may be a certain indicator of the product’s
quality. As everyone can see it, it is more credible.61
61 Compare Eric S. Raymond: “The Magic Cauldron” in: “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, Revised Edition; O’Reilly and Associates, Inc., Sebastopol, USA, 2001: pp 151-152.
24
4.5 Influence on Staff
4.5.1 Working conditions A change from one operating system and from one Office Suite to another will in any case
have a big impact on the staff. If they have to learn everything anew, a lot of time might
be lost and the working conditions might get worse, at least for a certain amount of time.
Therefore it is one of the most important factors how the people who have to work with
the new systems in the end react to it and can adapt its new or different features. This
applies to a migration from Microsoft to OSS, for example, as well as for an update from
an older version of Microsoft to a newer one. The extent, to which the staff has to get used
to the new tools, might be a measure of how sensible a change in some situations might
be. In any case, before migrating or updating the systems, it might be useful to run a test
session with members of the staff of various sections and with differing tasks to see how
they would feel about a change of the IT system they need to do their work with every
day.
4.5.2 New qualifications It might be possible that a change of the system provides the staff useful new
qualifications. Maybe they will understand the technology they are working with better
because they have got to know it from another perspective. Maybe they even will identify
with a new system more than with an old one as they learn it from the start and
“accompany” it. It is hard to tell how the people adjust to the new situation, but it seems
important that they are thoroughly trained and have easy access to advice, maybe in form
of a helpdesk, during the migration and in the future.
4.5.3 Time for Migration The time it needs to migrate to another system such as OSS also plays a crucial part in the
discussion. Especially if an institution or a company wants to change its whole system on
OSS, the longer it takes the more compatibility problems might occur. Normally, the most
stable environment is the one that uses one kind of system. That means that Microsoft
Office runs best on Windows (actually, without any extra programme like Win4Lin it
only runs on Windows) and OpenOffice.org mostly has the least compatibility problems
25
when used on Linux as an operating system. After deciding to switch to a new system, it
is therefore very important to plan the migration very well and keep to a fixed schedule.
This might also help the staff with the change because then they know what to expect.
4.6 Migration Efforts
4.6.1 Influence on IT staff Especially the IT staff of an institution as a company or an organisation has to put in the
most effort for a successful migration. They are the ones who have to adjust all the
systems and to cope with problems of compatibility. They also have to be trained to be
able to work with the new IT environment. It might even be necessary to engage new
people specialised in the new technology and software. There can only be a migration
with the support of the IT staff. They are the ones who have the most experience within a
company or administration concerning technical questions. From the technical point of
view, it is up to them if a migration makes sense and can be successful. That also means
that the IT staff and the IT administration have to work closely together.
4.6.2 Influence on IT complexity The more complex the new environment will become the more effort is necessary to keep
it running. The different systems have to interact fluently, especially in a complex
environment with internet, intranet, servers, databases, operating systems, desktops and
special programmes. This is extremely difficult in the period of migration itself, as there
are the most risks. It is possible that Windows and Linux are running next to each other on
different, but connected, platforms, and that might make the system more unstable.
Additionally, the staffs will not yet be used to and experienced with the new environment.
The migration will therefore have a huge impact on IT complexity. But it might be worth
it when considering it with respect to a longer period of time.
4.6.3 Readjustment of documents / macros As mentioned before, there will never be 100 % compatibility of documents and macros
when changing to a new environment. That applies to an update from an older Microsoft
version to a newer one as well as for a migration from Microsoft products to OSS. How
26
much time and work will be needed to adjust all documents and macros, varies a lot from
case to case. But it might be an important factor to consider, especially in big
administrative bodies such as governments, which permanently work with documents and
publishes maybe thousands of them each year.62
4.6.4 Availability of software Another point where especially the IT staff is challenged in case of a migration is the
question of how on all the computers of an administration, for example, can the new
system be installed most economically and updates and other software be most easily
available. Many administrations update their computers over the intranet so that all
platforms are at the same standard of software. If some clients need additional special
software, these may be also available and installed from a central workstation connected
with the intranet server. Whatever system there is, it has to be appropriate to the new
environment as it is the basis of the whole migration.
4.7 Influence on External Institutions
4.7.1 Compatibility Depending on the tasks of an administration, organisation or company, it might be
sensible to make sure that all documents produced are compatible with external
institutions. The OECD itself is a good example for that, because it co-operates constantly
with the administration and delegations of its Member and Associated States and has to
ensure that all documents and information has to be transferred properly. As this
interaction is one of the basic tasks of the organisation, the compatibility with external
institutions plays a significant role. As OSS has become a sensitive subject in political
discussions there might be a lot of external pressure on this subject.
4.7.2 Compatibility in the future When speaking about a migration or not, it is important to consider the future
development of the software market. It is hard to tell whether OSS will become an equal
competitor to Microsoft or not. Whatever one decides to choose, propriety software or
62 Compare chapters: 3.1.2 Software Costs and 2.2.1 Macros and Forms.
27
Open Source Software, there will be constant vigilance necessary to keep up to date with
the ever changing fast growing world of software.
4.8 Example for a Decision Support Matrix
This example for a Decision Support Matrix is meant as a basis for a discussion if it might
be interesting for an institution or company of any kind to further investigate new
technologies. It could be used in the case of the need for a change from one software
system to another, such as an update from one version to another of the same product or
for a so-called migration from propriety software to Open Source Software.
It is based on the thoughts about the strategic aspects of a possible migration from
propriety software to OSS of this report. The technical solutions, the criteria and the
sections might be changed according to each case. The Matrix should help to start a
discussion and to help evaluating if it makes sense for an institution, organisation or
company to further investigate new technologies such as new software systems. The
calculating system is an adopted variation of the client study made for the migration of the
city of Munich, Germany.63
63 Unilog Integrata: “Projekt: Client Sudie der Landeshauptstadt Muenchen, Kurzfassung des Abschlussberichts inklusive Nachtrag“ (Client Study of Munich, Capital of Bavaria, Germany; official summary); Version 1.3.2 (2.7.2003); pp 21-23.
28
Decision Support Matrix – An Example
Evaluation system
Weight: All sections combined receive 100 points that have to be distributed between the sections according to what value one wants to give each section. For each section there are 100 points given those have to be distributed between the different criteria. Value: 0 = worst case, 5 = current situation, 10 = best possible result.
The total of each group is the added points of the criteria of each section multiplied with the points of the section divided through 10 (to be comparable with total of weight). The total of all are all the total points of all sections added.
Possible Solution XP / XP XP / OSS Linux / OSS
Weight
1 Security
1.1 Vulnerability - protection against viruses, spy ware, etc.
1.2 Protection against intruders
1.3 Security of data
Total 0 0 0 0
Degree of compliance 100%
2 Stability
2.1 Robustness of code, reliability
2.2 Interoperability
2.3 Maintainability
Total 0 0 0 0
Degree of compliance 100%
3 Legal Situation
3.1 Security of license / patent legislation
3.2 Administrative rules
3.3 Fulfillment of laws for protection of information
Total 0 0 0 0 Degree of compliance 100%
4 Flexibility / Independence 4.1 Vendor independence
4.2 Access to updates / new applications
4.3 Access to source code / ability to adapt
4.4 Permanent support 4.5 Choice of support / advice 4.6 Compatibility Total 0 0 0 0 Degree of compliance 100%
29
Possible Solution XP / XP XP / OSS Linux / OSS
Weight
5 Influence on staff 5.1 User acceptance 5.2 Training requirements 5.3 Impact on mobility Total 0 0 0 0 Degree of compliance 100%
6 Migration Efforts 6.1 Influence on work of IT staff 6.2 Influence on IT administration 6.3 Influence on IT complexity
6.4 Readjustment of documents / macros to new environment
6.5 Availability of software Total 0 0 0 0 Degree of compliance 100%
7 External Factors 7.1 External pressure
7.3 Compatibility needs with external constituencies
Total 0 0 0 0 Degree of compliance 100%
Total of all 0 0 0 0
Degree of compliance 100% *The examples of possible solutions given here could be a combination of either Windows XP or Linux
as operating system and Office XP / 2003 or an OSS solution, e.g. OpenOffice.org, as office software.
30
Conclusion
This essay is meant to be a basis for a discussion. It cannot pretend to be exhaustive with regard
to the full suite of aspects that need to be considered to migrate to OSS. The final decision for an
approach on a possible migration to Open Source Software has to be seen in the context of the
organisation concerned. But maybe this discussion could lead to further investigation of the topic.
If an administration or an institution really would like to come to a conclusion for or against a
migration it would have to make a full feasibility study.
There are certain models which one are available for this task, like the Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO) model of Gartner, the Wirtschaftlichkeitsbetrachtung (WiBe)64 (~Consideration of
economical results) introduced by the German government or the Total Economic Impact (TEI)
methodology by Forrester65. All of them afford a lot of work and effort, as they are thorough
evaluations considering each aspect from various points of view, as for example of the Total
Economic Impact Model (TEI) of Forrester shown here:
64 http://www.kbst.bund.de/Anlage300441/KBSt-Schriftenreihe+Band+52+%281%2c3+MB%29.pdf (19.10.2004) 65 Source: Forrester
31
That is why the idea for a Decision Support Matrix appeared within the OECD Executive
Directorate’s Information Technology and Network Services (ITN). It is a tool to start a
discussion and maybe make it easier to decide whether or not such an enormous attempt as a
feasibility study makes sense in the future.
It is very hard to tell if a migration makes sense for an organisation or not, as the starting point,
the current situation, and the needs vary according to each case and there are big uncertainties
about costs, possible problems, the amount of training and personal costs necessary and the
development of the software market in the future. On the other hand, also the costs of propriety
software differ a lot according to each contract. When really attempting a migration, there will
remain risks that can be hardly measured.
There are a lot of chances in the field of Open Source Software in the future. However, caution
and thorough surveillance of the topic will be necessary to come to a conclusion whether a
feasibility study or even an approach towards a possible migration makes sense or not.
The OECD as a leading international organisation should and will certainly be aware of new
emerging opportunities in this fast changing field of software.
