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Follow UsAny discussion on open source software in India draws the strangest of
crowds, and even stranger reactions from them. That was the case at the recent
‘National Conference on Open Source Software’, organized by MAIT in
Bangalore. Even as speakers from the bureaucracy, NGOs and academic institutions
gushed about open source possibilities for the government, there was an
incredible amount of confusion about what open source software could actually
do.
At the same time, the increasing affinity of the government for open source
was palpable. There was talk of open source projects being implemented by state
governments, open source being included in the education syllabi of schools and
colleges and even government tenders calling for open source alternatives. It’s
easy to dismiss such optimism as a bout of over-enthusiasm of open source
aficionados but before doing so, analyze this:
| Is Linux Really Cheaper? |
| Always, a controversial topic, this is what market research agencies have to say about the cost factor of Linux. A Microsoft-commissioned IDC study found that companies could spend 11% to 22% less with Windows 2000 systems over a five-year span, than on Linux, given the following four IT scenarios–network infrastructure, print serving, file serving and security applications.
A July 2002 study of This study examined costs |
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Ann As a part of
the Linux India initiative, the Indian government has asked private players and
its own scientific community (like C-DAC, BARC etc) to recommend how best
government could use free/ open source software such as Linux.
n The recently
tabled pre-budget Economic Survey says the Government of India is "actively
exploring how free software can be fully utilized in India." The report
also says that "the use of free software reduces costs, reduces computer
security threats, puts full control in Indian hands… Many government
government agencies have commenced exploiting free software, particularly in the
areas of national security, e-governance, Internet-related applications,
research and development, and utilization for low-cost computing in schools and
colleges."
n Nasscom says
several states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
Maharashtra are either implementing or proposing to take up Linux for their
e-government projects.
n During Bill
Gates’ recent visit to India, the chief minster of Madhya Pradesh was quoted
as saying that several government projects, including the Headstart program (for
computer-enabled education), would run on Linux.
n The government
of Goa has decided to standardize on Linux for its schools computer project.
n States like
Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttaranchal, UP, Uttaranchal have begun to show interest in
Linux.
And it is not the Indian government alone that has discovered an affinity for
Linux. Governments across the worlds are warming up to open source and
particularly Linux. "Linux is highly appealing to governments on several
counts. One, it is a cost-effective solution for governments which have fixed
and limited budgets budget. Two, by adopting Linux, governments are not stuck to
any particular vendor. Hence they have the freedom of choice. Also, in a country
like India where Unix skills abound - it’s very easy to port these skills to
Linux. Skilled manpower is therefore relatively easier to find," says
Sandeep Menon, Linux business nanager for IBM.
The scalps
Year 2002 was memorable for open source as far as acceptance by governments
was concerned. More than a dozen governments of countries across the globe
enthusiastically embraced Linux. Countries like the UK, Venezuela, France,
Germany, Belgium are looking to adopt Linux and other open source alternatives
(see box). Taiwan, for example, has announced its intention to pursue open
source over major commercial applications with an eye on loosening Microsoft’s
grip on the desktop software market. Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission had been
investigating whether Microsoft had abused its position as the leading provider
of OS software to inflate prices for its software. In Peru, a bill spearheaded
by Congressman Edgar David Villanueva Nuqez stipulates that software used by
state institutions should satisfy free software conditions.
Such legislation is worrying for the Redmond giant and other manufactures of
proprietary software. Gartner Dataquest has identified the government sector in
the US as a high growth vertical and has forecast US government IT spending to
touch a whopping $108.8 billion by 2005. Industry sources also estimate that the
Indian government would spend about $1.07 billion on IT in 2003 alone. With the
downturn hitting enterprises, state and fereral governments are the only cash
cows around.
The empire strikes back…
Microsoft, however, is putting on a brave face and has a launched an
offensive on two fronts. On one hand, it refuses to acknowledge Linux as a
direct threat. At the same time, it has mounted a campaign to counter the
runaway success of open source in government circles.
| Countries Looking at Open Source |
|
| United States (California): Open-source advocates have proposed legislation called the Digital Software Security Act, which if passed would force government agencies to only use software that didn’t have source code restrictions on it. United States Peru: UK: Thailand and the Taiwan: Germany: South Africa: Venezuela: France: |
|
| The Linux Numbers |
|
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Linux on servers–13.7% marketshare of the $50.9-billion worldwide market. Expected to rise to 25.2% by 2006, according to IDC estimates |
|
Linux operating system will be installed on 200,000 desktop PCs in India by the end of 2003, according to Red Hat |
"There is no doubt that awareness regarding open source software has
increased over the last few years, and the rising decibels on the topic have
increased government interest in open source and free software as an option. We
however, are skeptical of the actual successes that these models will see in
governments or even enterprises today. The Open Source and Free (freedom to
modify) software model has its merits but the number of organizations that can
actually benefit from this model are limited. Most organizations don’t have
the resources, or the bandwidth to develop software for addressing their needs -
and the risk associated with untried and untested software is too high for
anyone," says Sanjiv Mathur, Group Marke ting Head,
Microsoft Corporation India
Even as Microsoft acknowledges the growth of stupendous Linux, the Redmond
giant is not willing to concede Linux as a threat. "The interest in Linux
has definitely grown over the last few years - and industry interest in the
product is high.
However, in our opinion the actual usage of Linux today is limited. Linux is
currently being used in high volume - low value solutions or high value - low
volume situations - and we don’t expect this to change anytime soon,"
adds Mathur.
To counter the legislation in countries which give ‘preference’ to open
source software, Microsoft, along with Intel and a few others, is backing an
initiative called the ‘Initiative for Software Choice’, launched in May last
year. An industry body called the Computer Technology Industry Association (CompTIA)
chairs the initiative, which will lobby with governments that are considering
open source alternatives. "We do not oppose government policies or
practices that use merit-based selection processes to solve their ICT needs. If
a product gets chosen in this manner–be it OSS, hybrid or proprietary–then
presumably it’s the best product for the job at hand, delivering the optimum
benefits to the government and its constituents," says Mike Wendy, CompTIA
spokesperson.
To bait or not to bait…
With several governments adopting definite policies for adoption of open
source, must India follow suit? Or should it wait and watch?
"Though we can’t prescribe a course of action for the government, it
would be better if it comes out with a clear commitment to open source software
alternatives. That would give much-needed confidence to officials across
government departments to explore open source alternatives while making IT
procurements," says IBM’s Menon. The other school of thought is that the
government should take a leaf out of China’s book and use Linux as a
bargaining chip with firms like Microsoft.
The Chinese government periodically blows hot and cold on Linux in an attempt
to keep Microsoft on its heels. For example, just a fortnight before Gates’
visit to China, the government sent out feelers that it would consider adopting
Linux in a big way.
That prompted Microsoft to offer a chance to see the source code. So, even as
the Chinese government gets a peek at the top secret Windows source code by
signing up for Microsoft’s new government security program, the Redmond giant
hopes it can strafe off the China’s initiatives to adopt Linux for government
use.
That kind of game may work for the Indian government. But then again, it may
not. A nice way to start would be to bring out a report on the open source
projects undertaken by state governments across India.