And now an editorial from ZD Net UK
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y14862139
NHS - 5,000 chances for truth in the OS Wars
ZDNet UK
September 01, 2004, 12:00 BST
The Health Service's 5,000-seat Java Desktop deal is just the start of a
real-life test. Much is at stake
The National Health Service's National Programme for IT has decided to
deploy 5,000 seats of Sun Microsystems' Java Desktop System (JDS). In
any other organisation, this would be a massive win and a victory
beyond question but since the NHS has recently agreed to renew its deal
with Microsoft for 1.2 million Windows desktops, some would say that
it's nothing significant.
We don't know how much Microsoft is charging for its deal, which awaits
Treasury approval. It wouldn't be the first time that a governmental
organisation has used an alternative to Windows as a bargaining chip --
the London Borough of Newham made noises about deploying Linux, only to
turn round and choose Windows after all. But there's more to the NHS
deal than just staring down Bill.
Unlike Newham, the JDS deal is real, and the licences have been bought.
The statement by the NPfIT says that JDS will be used for tactical
deployments, which is vague enough to mean anything. Whatever the
details, have no doubt that the real costs are being closely
scrutinised. The NPfIT has the National Audit Office breathing down its
neck over the £6bn being spent on NHS contracts, and finding any way of
saving money would be attractive right now.
Once those 5,000 seats are in, the NHS will learn how JDS really
performs. It won't need any Microsoft-funded reports to know which way
is cheaper and what works better. Assuming that there are real TCO
savings with JDS, in a couple of years' time the NHS will have an even
bigger stick with which to beat Microsoft.
Yet a bold approach deserves to deliver greater rewards than merely a
handsome discount. With open-source development progressing at light
speed and Windows stuck in a swamp of compatibility and security
quicksand, JDS has a good chance of looking an even better bet in the
future than it does now. Sun's 5,000-seat win could be the Trojan Horse
that the open-source community needs - and we all know how vulnerable
Windows is to those.
--
Michael Leuty
Nottingham, UK
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