"Not surprisingly, the meeting is neither for my nor Microsoft's
benefit, but for that of Richard Steel, who is CIO of the London
Borough of Newham. Those with good memories may recall that back in
2003 it looked like Newham was going to switch to open source, in
what could have been a real breakthrough for free software in the
UK, but that it then changed its mind and signed a long-term - and
secret - deal with Microsoft. Winning Newham was so important to
Microsoft that it helped set up a competitive trial:
Using open source-based software in desktop and server
packages offers no short-term savings.
That was the initial finding of a trial at Newham Council in
East London, which pitted open source products against proprietary
rivals."