[ Thanks to Dangermouse for this link.
]
“Instead, by moving from an upfront license fee to a
service based model, capital expenditure will be reduced and the
saving can be funnelled into other areas of public spending.“At the heart of this New Economics of IT is open source, which
earlier this year was given a massive endorsement by the UK
government with the publication of its open source strategy.
Looking at the cost savings that have been achieved by companies
and governments all over the world, it is estimated that the UK
Government could reduce its annual IT bill by at least £600m
a year if more open source software was used as part of an
effective procurement strategy.“As all political parties search for the policy options that
will enable them to cut costs without cutting services, one could
be forgiven for being a little skeptical. After all, it seems the
impossible balancing act of trying to reconcile the irreconcilable.
However, taking costs out of IT projects does not have to mean
shelving those projects all together.”