HU: Easier open source implementations for public administrations
Public administrations and schools in Hungary should find it easier to start using open source and open standards. The government on 25 August published a list of seven IT companies that they can turn to for help if they want to use these types of software.
The Hungarian Senior State Secretariat for Informatics, E-Government & ICT, has reserved 6 billion HUF (about 22 million euro) for the projects on open source and open standards, and signed agreements with seven IT companies: FEFO, Freesoft, Kventa, Multiráció, Navigator, ULX and WSH.
Of the six billion HUF, four is earmarked for public administrations and the remainder are for schools and universities.
The projects on open source and open standards are a new addition to an annual tender for software licences. The centralised price negotiations are meant to make it easier for government organisations to purchase products and services, who do not have to publish separate tenders.
The total project is worth 24 billion HUF (about 87 million euro) and up until last April involved only two suppliers of proprietary software licences, Microsoft and Novell. This year's contract for the first times allows 12 billion HUF worth of Microsoft products and 6 billion HUF for Novell products, with the remainder earmarked for open source and open standards.
In a statement published by ULX, one of the open source IT service providers, the company explains it took years of lobbying to make open source and open standards part of the centralised software tender. The company hopes this will put an end to the practise of naming only proprietary vendors in government tenders.
Following the publication on 25 August, government representatives have already begun contacting the listed open source IT services companies. "We are in ongoing talks with both public administrations and education institutes", says Gábor Szentiványi, the CEO of ULX.
He says the credit crisis is forcing these organisations to look for alternatives to replace their expensive proprietary software solutions. "The existing licence or IT service contracts are running out, and organisations find it difficult to renew them."
According to ULX, many organisations in the public sector are facing budget cuts of up to 30 percent.
More information:
Index news item (in Hungarian)
Computerworld news item (in Hungarian)
IT business news item (in Hungarian)
IT Cafe news item (in Hungarian)
Hup news item (in Hungarian)
Terminal news item (in Hungarian)
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