Making open source work, continued
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While Linux has undoubtedly carved inroads into the IT systems of regional governments, a series of roadblocks are still standing in the way of wider user adoption.
It's all about patents: In the last few years, intellectual-property protection of open-source software has become one of the most pertinent issues in the IT scene. The legal hoopla surrounding SCO's charges that some Linux codes are in violation of Unix patents continues to have the open-source industry up in arms, and has even resulted in several attacks on SCO's Web site.
A controversial study last year also added weight to these alleged copy claims. According to a report by U.S.-based startup Open Source Risk Management, Linux could have infringed as many as 283 patents. Of little surprise, Microsoft is leveraging such doubts to drum up the merits of its Windows operating system. To safeguard its customers against intellectual-property risks, the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant is now offering indemnity against any patent claim.
Not to be outdone, companies like Sun Microsystems, Red Hat and Hewlett-Packard have also sought to reassure Linux buyers with similar warranty schemes. While protection plans are now offered by these multinational vendors, regional Linux distributors like Red Flag in China and Korea's HaanSoft have yet to make a clear stand when it comes to intellectual-property assurance.
It's all about interoperability: Prior to Red Hat and Novell's aggressive expansion into the region in the past two years, multiple flavors of the Linux operating system have been and are still being offered by a host of smaller local players around the region.
The fragmentation in regional Linux distributions and the resulting lack of standardization is a bane for third-party software and hardware vendors. Unlike the "certify once, use everywhere" proposition of Windows, fragmentation means companies will have to repeatedly certify their products with different Linux distributors.
In a bid to resolve this issue, three leading Linux sellers from China, Japan and Korea--Red Flag, Miracle Linux and HaanSoft--joined hands to develop a standardized Linux server operating system called Asianux. By using a shared Linux core, the companies said Asianux will ensure interoperability among the three open-source hotbeds in North Asia.
In what is widely-perceived as yet another Linux victory in Asia, authorities in China, Japan and Korea have further sealed an agreement to standardize their IT systems on open-source software. Government representatives from the three nations have met several times in 2004 and are expected to firm up details of the move in the near future.
It's all about support: Besides the interoperability obstacle, the lack of third-party applications is often cited as another major impediment in Linux's quest to enter the mainstream. Without support for mission-critical applications, Linux's early inroads have been confined to commodity Web or file servers.
While the situation is changing, the breadth of applications available for Linux is still lower compared to entrenched operating systems like Windows or Unix
To overcome this problem, Linux proponents like Oracle are investing millions in incentives to lure independent software vendors to port their applications over to the open-source platform. In addition, companies like Red Hat and Novell are ramping up training programs to deepen Linux know-how among Asian IT professionals.
-- By Winston Chai, CNETAsia
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When asked about the potential cost and productivity loss as a result of having to grapple with new technology, Cheok said it was unnecessary worry.
"I think the cost is overstated," he said. "And I haven't seen any significant loss in productivity while my staff grappled with OpenOffice. The interface is very intuitive."
Describing the experience of the 17 staff who first experimented with OpenOffice, Cheok said: "They took to it like fish to water."
Cheok Beng Teck,
director, Mindef's CIO office |
The cost of conversion for most educated users--people with reasonable exposure to IT--is not as high as some people think, said Cheok.
"Some people worry that if they use OpenOffice, it may take them, say, three hours to type a letter instead of 30 minutes.
"The first time, it may be 10 minutes longer. But eventually, it'll be as fast, if not faster," he noted.
"I haven't seen any significant loss in productivity while my staff grappled with OpenOffice."
But Mindef is not completely pulling the plug on Microsoft. Cheok has implemented a co-existence model to give staff choice which, he said, works very well.
To accelerate the adoption of OpenOffice among users who use applications that do not need Microsoft Office, the CIO office is working on a change management policy. "Those who can survive on OpenOffice will only have OpenOffice," he said.
Lee added: "This group will grow (in size) over time as we retire those applications that require Microsoft Office."
Cheok estimates about one quarter of Mindef staff belong to this group of users. "They will be given OpenOffice for a start. Progressively, this group will increase because as we retire old applications and build new ones, they will be less Microsoft Office-dependent," he explained.
The Mindef CIO Office supports 65,000 full-time employees comprising Singaporean men serving National Service (NS), and full-time employees of Singapore Air Force and Mindef. With such a large user group, implementation has to be done in a phased approach.
"Things can't happen overnight," said Cheok. "On top of (the 65,000 employees), I've to give implicit support to about 300,000 operationally-ready NS men through MIW.com (the Web site for NS men)," he noted.
By the time Mindef introduces the 20,000 new desktops in March 2006, about one quarter will be OpenOffice-only users.
The cost of offering choice
Having a co-existence strategy does not necessarily cost a company more money. In fact, Cheok said, "the costs are overstated".
Part of the budget--about 2 percent of the total cost if Mindef had decided to upgrade to Microsoft Office 2003--has been allocated for change management. The money will be used to educate people about the migration, to hold short courses for those keen to understand the differences between OpenOffice and Microsoft Office 97, he said.
"The amount of money I put aside (for change management) is a small fraction," said Cheok. "But these are costs that I would have incurred anyway should I upgrade to Office 2003," said Cheok.
Costs aside, there were also "emotional issues" to deal with, as they will be in any typical IT implementation. "People were worried about issues like how to use (it), how to 'bold' the text, for example. By nature, people are afraid of the unknown," he recalled.
But the intuitive interface of OpenOffice, which is similar to Microsoft Office, made it easier for staff to get used to the new software, Cheok said.
Mindef conducted a three-month pilot, during which user surveys were conducted to get feedback on the software and their experiences. "I didn't want people to feel that I forced the tool down their throats. I told them that I'll do the survey, and at any time they were uncomfortable, I would allow them to back out," he noted.
Managing change
As with all IT projects, change management cannot be emphasized enough.
"Change management is important as we migrate more aggressively to OpenOffice, which is not an easy task considering we support 65,000 people. So we worked out a major change management campaign," said Cheok.
Lee leads the team in change management, and worked with a group from DSTA to execute the change management program. He also roped in Resolvo Systems, a Singapore-based vendor specializing in open source.
According to Cheok, there is no lack of support for OSS. Besides the open-source community, vendors are also a good source of support. "You will find that the system integrators are pleased to help you migrate from proprietary software to open-source software, because they see it as their value-add," he said.
"Although few would openly admit it, most systems integrators would be happy to help you if you're willing to manage the risk together with them."
He also advised companies to ensure users are constantly reassured throughout the process. "When you roll out the technology, you need to tell users that you're supporting them all the way. Tell them that if they've a problem and the helpdesk can't help them, you'll be there to assist," said Cheok.
What's ahead
Mindef's open-source experience will not end with OpenOffice. Money has been put aside to experiment with the Linux desktop operating system.
"We believe there will be more value from open source and OpenOffice. So Linux desktop is the next seed we want to plant and hope to harvest the benefits," Cheok said.
The plan, so far, is to select desktops for specific purposes. "We're looking for an environment that is suitable to implement the Linux desktop, not just for the pilot but for production use," he said.
When asked for more details, Cheok said it was still early days but emphasized that his team "will have to consider how the business will be affected as we think about deploying open source".
"We'll probably follow the same journey as (what we took for) the OpenOffice platform," said Cheok.
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