Re: [Fsfe-uk] GNU/Linux Desktops for UK Police?

[MJ Ray]

Gareth Bowker:
> I'd be interested to know more about the apps that need porting from
> Windows to Linux and how netproject plan to do this, as this is an issue
> that'll face many more companies that would like to make the switch. If
> we had some sort of document to show the cost benefits of using Free
> Software, including the costs of retraining and porting of apps, I think
> this would be of great use. Does anyone know of any such documents that
> have already been produced?

I think it's very hard to produce a general document covering this, as the
range of possible Free Software is very large indeed.  You can find details
of past studies by looking through the normal press and sometimes in the
press releases of government organisations who have converted to Free
Software.  Most of the ones I'm aware of that are in English are in the US
at present (eg City of Largo).

The important things are to do an analysis for your particular situation
before acting and make sure you have contingency plans, etc, in place.  Of
course, you should be doing this before any project as major as an OS
upgrade, but when the products of certain large companies are involved, CIOs
and IT Directors become dangerously neglectful of planning and counting
costs.  Many apps can be run under emulation, preferably WINE, or on a
virtual or remote machine, if they are not able to be ported in a meaningful
way soon enough.  External mission-critical apps for which you have neither
a free licence nor a willing vendor are dangerous, but that's the same on
any platform.

Of course, many companies (including mine, in our own field, or I can
recommend ones outside that field off-list) have experience of these studies
and are more than willing to assist with detailed analysis.  ;-)
-- 
MJR ,----------------------------------------------------
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