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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