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Australian NSW Government Making Way for Linux
seralick writes "Australian IT has reported that the Australian NSW government has established 'Australia's first whole-of-government panel to supply open source software and services to its departments and agencies.' Basically they have opened the way for the wide spread goverment usage of Linux software and services."
I never thought I'd see this. I wonder if Bill Gates will fly in and offer massive discounting for govt depts, like he did for Telstra?
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
In short, NSW put together a group of companies that can be considered "preferred service companies" for when something is b0rken on a government machine. Until now, each problem report had to be handled individually, but with the "panel" in place, each problem can be pooled with other problems and the fix postponed en masse rather ignored on an individual basis.
The prime contractors include IBM, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Dell and Novell
Isn't this just trading one monolith for another?
Yes, the source may be open now, but as the NSW government gets more reliant on the company, the more one can expect the code to become proprietry.
And it's already translated into Australian (heck it's even translated into US for us 'mericans:-)!
If they are licensing via the GPL, and they are using Linux (which runs on open standards and doesn't play well on proprietary standards), then I very much doubt this. The code will remain open.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
Eeewwwwwwww!
This in NO WAY makes NSW open source friendly. If anything it makes it harder for anyone in the govt to use open source. What this does is it requires users to buy open source software from a group of designated companies, basically locking small players out of the parket.
This is bad news !!!
Once again we see how slashdot story leads add so much spin to a story as to distort it completely.
Link is NSW
/sorry
We have to wait 8 months in Australia before this news is on the TV
I better find a torrent for it!
It is what traditional commercial vendors have provided for years. What's new is that it will be implemented on top of Linux instead of Multics or Windows or VM/CMS.
Looks promising.
... what bribes?!?
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
MS: one monolith
IBM, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Dell and Novell: ehm, more than one, so how can you speak of a monolith?
And btw., one of the benefits of OSS is that you don't get locked in like you do with say an all out Windows shop. Sure, it might be inconvenient to switch to an other vendor, an other service provider, but at least it is possible without giving up your current solution.
Microsoft already reacted, by putting a big ad on the article :)
Tsuyoikoto ha taisetsu da ne, dakedo namida mo hitsuyousa (Strength is an important thing, but tears too are necessary)
My company Solutions First (http://www.solutionsfirst.com.au) made it on the panel right next to the multinationals. We are a relativly small IT firm that specialises in Linux solutions, even if most of our clients don't know it. We have been providing linux solutions for 5 years in our current form.
3 ,39187094,00.htm
Nevertheless, this is a great thing for NSW. It means that all those government departments that previously had to submit a tender for linux services can now just call us up and we can help them.
There is a more detailed article here:
http://www.zdnet.com.au/news/software/0,200006173
we are listed as Sol1 in that list.
Its going to a great chance for our little company.
dave
We couldn't possibly have that. Cheaper products and better service - how dreadful!
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
This is not a spur of the moment action. Several years ago the NSW ALP had an open meeting regarding open source and more importantly open standards. Yes open standards, it is considerably more important than open source. Open standards span closed and open source and allow us to get on with business.
Anyway, two years ago Della Bosca frankly admitted he did not know much of open source let alone linux, yet he was prepared to learn. To be honest he represents what we want. A politician who knows their limitations but is not afraid to ask. The result is a favourable movement towards open standards, which I believe is the way for governments to go.
Three cheers for della bosca, he may not understand it but he is working for a better open world.
Go Dave!
.gov.au is going to model their efforts after them.
For some more context stuff, a contact of mine is an IT consultant hired by various large corporates primarily because he is tied into the nsw.gov.au old school tie network.
He mentioned during a linux conversation that practically everyone in the NSW state government is "desperate to get rid of that Microsoft crap". Almost every department has people that have been hurt many many times by Microsoft, and have simply had enough.
The key problem has been accountability. They are public servants, and so of course are never going to move until they are 100% sure they can do it and not suffer political/career repurcussions in the process.
The (previously mentioned here) NSW Roads and Traffic Authority linux conversion was seen as their white knight project. From what I understand, that has been a strong success. With that out of the way, and now suppliers they can use without fear of repurcussion, I would expect to be seeing not just the odd single linux projects, but a whole swath of projects through most of the entire NSW government over the coming year.
And you can bet once half of NSW is enjoying no failures from viruses and greatly reduced prices, the rest of
Hazzah!
Adam K
Today must be Australia Day.
Either that, or all the Australian news is aired during the night after all the important prime-time news is finished.
Australia is on the other side of the world. When it's evening in North America it's the following morning there.
Welcome to Planet Earth.
-1 Uncomfortable Truth
Australians have tended to be rather anti-Windoze (see also http://apple.slashdot.org/apple/04/04/16/2311215.s html?tid=137&tid=175). Odd that Apple is dragging their heels with iTMS Oz.
Australia Day is January 26th, Anzac Day is April 25th
And wonder why in the hell there needs to be a freaking panel on opensource software in any government.
I've read the articles left and right about hinderances to government implementing non-COTS environments but in the end it's just software!
I don't remember these kinds of panels and hububaloo about implementing Windows here and there. Was there an implementation panel to provide service and support for Windows when it was brought into the Australian government?
I'm all for open source as I like getting a paycheck but some of these "program" and "panels" and committees strike me as another sign of government waste.
Where's the benifit of using an opensource solution when it takes a panel to advise to implement? It's just annoying that people want to make this into something that requires an army of consultants and panelists to do when it's really about just buying software.
"Fighting the underpants gnomes since 1998!" "Bruce Schneier knows the state of schroedinger's cat"
... As opposed to the unAustralian NSW Government?
You're a suburbanite.
The various distributions including non-profit ones like Ubuntu play a very important part in that they make it impossible for one particular company to monopolize the market like microsoft ended doing. As far as the choice of distribution is concerned, it filters down to one thing - support.
If a distribution is able to give good support in terms of frequent bug fixes , software updation and technical support (need not be like redhat's 24x7 type but even mailing lists, news servers and email support will do ) - then even if it is a small company or even a non-profit one, it doesn't make much of a difference.
Anyway if a firm decides to move over to linux, then they will be hiring atleast one linux professional to take care of their network. So eventually the type of distro doesn't make much of a difference.
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Good on you for bringing to their attention.
Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
... John Howard is not really in charge of Telstra either.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.