[ Thanks to Matt for
this link. ]
“There have been some major changes in the City of Austin’s IT
department since last I visited with then CIO Brownlee Bowmer. For
one thing, Bowmer has transferred to a new position with the City’s
Waste and Wastewater department. Next, one of the first things his
replacement did was to reorganize the department. For another, the
city is now very serious about finding ways to cut costs.“As a result of all the above, the city’s attitude towards the
use of Linux and open source software has taken a 180 degree turn.
When I first started tracking the City of Austin/Microsoft/Linux
saga two years ago, a deputy director in the IT department told me
that if he found Linux being used on a desktop he would have it
removed.“Not long after that conversation, the city signed an Enterprise
Agreement licensing deal with Microsoft. It seemed to many, myself
included, that even though they were chanting ‘TCO, TCO’ as they
signed the deal, being cost effective was the last thing on their
mind. That’s not the case today…”