ES: Development centre Madrid motivates SMEs to use open source

The centre, located in the city district of Vicálvaro was opened last Wednesday, 3 June. Named 'Madrid on Rails' after 'Ruby on Rails', a method for rapidly developing web applications, it is one of a series of projects that the city administration is launching to increase the use of IT by SMEs and boost their competitiveness.

The centre's focus is on free and open source software. Using this type of software allows it to develop tools that help SMEs grow, at lower costs, explains Miguel Angel Villanueva, representative of the city administration and responsible for economic development and employment.

"Small businesses should get into the habit of using lots of IT", Villanueva told the Spanish newspaper El Pais. "These applications do not have to costs money. We offer them open source software and when needed, tailor these to their needs."

In the centre, small and medium sized enterprises can have their business plans examined. If needed, Madrid on Rails will help to start-up the development of software tools or assist in adapting these to their needs. It also offers training facilities to help SMEs start using open source applications.

The centre for instance will make a number of applications available as on-line services. Companies can use these for instance for keeping track for accounting or to manage customer relations. These so-called
Software as a Service applications make SMEs more flexible and the same time can help to reduce IT maintenance costs.

The Madrid on Rails centre costs about 1.3 million euro. It is paid by the Madrid city council, with a grant from the ministry for Industry, Tourism and Trade. "It will make Madrid the world leader in Rails and open source technologies, promoting innovation in SMEs and getting a more competitive business community", the centre said in a statement.

More information:

Madrid on Rails website

VNUnet news item (in Spanish)

Agora news item (in Spanish)

El Pais news item (in Spanish)