City of Paris: free or not free?
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Unilog management presented his "economic study of a migration towards the free software"to the city of Paris."
The conclusions of this study are highly anticipated, as for the first time a major public institution, representing a market of 17.000 positions, is officially questioning the potential gains of a possible migration to open source.
In a press release, the city of Paris reveals some of the study's findings:
«The scenario of a massive, short-term migration to free software—that is, a total and immediate switchover—appears incompatible with the original state of the park.».
In the city of Paris, there will therefore be no computer revolution but rather a smooth transition to free software : "On the other hand, the City intends to equip itself with the means to ensure control over its development and to strive for ever greater independence from its suppliers.».
Indeed, for a complete and immediate Linux revolution (which would allow for cost savings compared to Microsoft), the estimated cost would be between €0,2 million and €57 million for a total migration over five years. According to Unilog, this amount would be justified by the staff training costs.
Conclusion
the City of Parishere intends to prioritize, in its choices, the criteria of interoperability and compatibility between "free" and "non-free" software. "could well pave the way for other strategies of gentle revolution by allowing the coexistence between systems, which until now has been so feared by the DSTI (Information Systems and Technology Department).
