New Perspective - Open Source

As the availability of monetary resources becomes a pressing issue for South Portland, it is important to begin looking at alternative ways of doing business. We have the ability to maintain a high quality of productivity while cutting costs. One example of a new alternative is open source software.

Open source software is defined thoroughly by the Open Source Initiative; visit the link to find out more. To summarize, one of the main benefits of open source software is its cost: free. According to the IT Department, South Portland spends nearly $80,000 on licensing software from Microsoft to use Windows and the Microsoft Office suite. This is a periodic cost, as the software and operating systems are planned on being used for up to 10 years. The 10-year figure is a stretch, as Microsoft regularly makes its software outdated every 3-5 years. The use of Open Office (open source version of Microsoft Office) has been contemplated by the city years ago, but was not chosen due to compatibility issues. Since then, many strides have been made to make Open Office a viable alternative, and one that should not be considered lightly.

This is an example of how we can save money, as well as create jobs ($80,000 = 3-4 entry-level salaries) and foster independence from the private sector. I want to bring this kind of perspective to the City Council.


Further Reading:

Benefits of Using Open Source Software
Study Shows Open-Source Code Quality Improving
Open Source Appeal: It Comes Down to Costs
Open Source Alternatives - Find alternatives to commercial software