Business Day: State to Save Billions on Software

"When Microsoft introduced a new licensing model for its software late last year, simmering resentment within government finally boiled over.

"For months the State IT Agency had winced at the incessant expense of buying software licences for hundreds of thousands of staff spread across government departments. Now the agency has declared that it will ditch expensive brand name software in many cases and switch to opensource alternatives.

"The move should save at least R3bn [US$332.6 million/€312.3 million] a year, says agency chief information officer Mojalefa Moseki. The policy should also help to create a new generation of programmers skilled in developing their own applications..."

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