Microsoft has slashed its prices for Paris City Hall by more than half as the French capital prepares for a major computer systems upgrade and weighs a possible switch to free open source software.
”Microsoft has agreed to cut its prices to the suppliers who work with us,” a Paris official said on Thursday.
The cut was ”to the order of” 60%, the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Paris plans to spend 160-million euros ($195-million) on computers and software over the next three years in a push to upgrade its obsolete systems.
But more is at stake than the software bill — up to 15-million euros ($18-million) at list prices. A decision by Paris to ditch Microsoft would deal it a symbolic blow at a time when a growing number of companies and administrations are opting for alternatives such as the Linux operating system.
These are known as open source software because their source code does not belong to anyone — companies can use it, modify it and even sell their versions of it without paying royalties.
Microsoft France CEO Christophe Aulnette confirmed that the company had signaled readiness to cut prices for Paris City Hall, but declined to be more specific.
”We are ready to make some efforts on prices,” said Aulnette.
He was speaking just weeks before French IT consulting company Unilog SA is due to deliver a detailed report to the capital’s Socialist-led administration on plans to install open source software on 15 000 new terminals.
Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe commissioned the study last year after the German city of Munich announced it was dropping Microsoft’s Windows operating system and Office software suite in favor of free alternatives Linux and OpenOffice. Unilog also advised Munich on the changeover.
Munich’s choice was widely seen as motivated by a political desire to punish Microsoft for its dominance of the global IT industry. The changeover went ahead despite a reported offer from the Redmond, Washington-based company to undercut the price of installing the rival open source system.
Francois Dagnaud, Delanoe’s deputy in charge of administration, insisted the Paris decision was still ”wide open,” but conceded that there were political pressures at work.
”We’re fully aware of the political dimension of this question and we make no secret of it,” Dagnaud said by phone.
The most critical factors in deciding between rival systems would be their openness to upgrades and their security, Dagnaud said.
Proponents of open source systems argue that it allows cheaper and easier customisation than software based on Microsoft’s closely guarded proprietary source code, as well as better security.
In recent months, Microsoft operating systems and its Explorer web browser have suffered high-profile attacks by hackers using viruses and worms that sometimes compromise users’ personal and financial information.
Microsoft’s Aulnette said that software budgets account for less than five percent of IT spending on average, while switching away from commercial software can lead to much bigger cost increases elsewhere.
”Open source is just shifting the cost from licenses to services, maintenance, integration, training,” he said.
As for safety, he said, ”If I have a safe in my room and I give the code to everybody, will it be safer? I don’t think so.”
Such arguments have not deterred governments including China, Japan, South Korea and Brazil from planning changeovers to Linux-based systems. Some corporations are also taking the plunge.
Hewlett-Packard, the world’s largest PC maker, said this year it planned to sell Linux-equipped computers.
Despite the growing popularity of open source — particularly among left-wing administrations — Aulnette said he was confident Microsoft’s offer would prove the most suitable for Paris City Hall.
”We were clearly told that this is going to be a pragmatic decision,” he said. – Sapa-AP