After switching to OpenOffice in 2005 and introducing Mozilla Firefox and Thunderbird on their machines in 2006, the French paramilitary police (‘Gendarmery’) will make the switch to 100% Free Software based desktops in the coming years. The migration should be completed in 2014.
All workstations will be converted to Ubuntu desktops, starting this year with 5000-8000 seats, growing to 12000-15000 over the next four years. By 2014, all 70000 (!!!) desktops should be running free software.
There are three major reasons for the full switch:
- Remove dependency on one single supplier
- Gain full control over the whole operating system stack
- Reduce costs
Nowadays licensing costs sum up to 7000000€ (that’s seven million euros) every year.
I guess this must be one of the largest Linux desktops deployments ever?
Source: AFP
When an announcement like this is made, it seems like quite often Microsoft fly in with their chequebooks and FUDbooks and fix it. Bill Gates is in London today- hardly a million miles off.
Ken: even if this deployment wouldn’t become reality, the intention and comments by the responsibles can have a major impact.
Although a real deployment is always better, of course
And where is the Belgian government staying? Do they even have pc’s already? Some 7 years ago (time flies) they typed (yes as in a typewriter) everything on my drivers license. I wonder where they are today …
I must appreciate this step towards open source technology adoptions.