Linux does a samba, Microsoft watches

Alberto Alerigi Jr.

SAO PAULO: Brazil's government is urging its massive bureaucracy to use free software like Linux on its computer systems in a cost-cutting move that could cost Microsoft millions of dollars in lost revenue.

The initiative seeks to reduce the cost of proprietary software licenses the government needs to use programs like Microsoft's Windows operating system, which runs about 90 percent of the world's computers.

The government says it spends more than 100 million reais, or about $34 million, a year on license payments, an amount deemed too big for the cost-conscious, left-leaning administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula's pro-Linux policies have put him in line with similar initiatives in China, Japan and South Korea, which launched a campaign to create an open operating system to compete against Windows in September.

Brazil's state-funded National Institute of Information Technology (ITI) also wants the initiative to boost the country's trade balance by exporting more locally developed software and reducing payments abroad for software licenses.

The Brazilian Software Excellence Promotion Society (Softex) estimated that the country imported $1 billion more in software than it exported in 2001.

"We buy 10 times more than we export," said ITI President Sergio Amadeu, who set up the government's guidelines for reducing the use of proprietary software.

Initially, the government is recommending that ministries and federal agencies stop buying computers embedded with operating systems, usually Windows.

Amadeu says the goal is not to change all government software over to Linux but to promote "open software use."

The ITI has launched pilot programs to explore which programs, systems and database software could benefit from free solutions based on Linux, an operating system whose use is growing in corporations around the globe.

Government agencies will have the autonomy to choose whether they want to opt for Linux, but they are being urged to identify specific areas where it can be used.

A complete switch to Linux would take time. "It would be possible to achieve 80 percent of that in three years," said Ricardo Sigaud, director of systems integration at Brazil's planning ministry.

One of Lula's objectives is to extend computer access to low- and middle-income families, mostly through Brazil's public school system. Last year, only 10 percent of the country's public schools were equipped with computers.

A switch to a free, open system like Linux might help. For one thing, according to Amadeu's calculations, it would cost the government $200 million every two years just to pay for software licenses to install computer laboratories in 100,000 of 170,000 Brazil's public schools.

MICROSOFT UNFAZED

In fiscal 2002, total sales by Microsoft's partners in Brazil were 878.5 million reais, or about $300 million, and 6 percent of that was generated by the government, according to the company's marketing and business director, Luiz Marcelo Moncau. Microsoft's own revenues were not available because it does not break out its sales by countries.

The Microsoft marketing director said he believes the state's shift to Linux will not affect sales in Brazil for now.

But Alberto Luiz Albertin, who heads the Getulio Vargas Business School's technology department, said the gradual move toward Linux could signal more changes in the future.

"It's inevitable that this will change the market. This attitude creates some trust for the system (Linux) in the sector and can encourage the creation of a broader users group," he said.

The number of mid-sized and large Brazilian companies that started using Linux grew to 12 percent in 2002 from 8 percent in 2001, Albertin said.

For its part, Microsoft has told the government its technology is actually cheaper than Linux because it needs less support resources.

"There are studies showing that the total cost of owning and maintaining Microsoft technology can be 16 percent cheaper than using Linux," said Emilio Umeoka, general-director of Microsoft Brazil.

The software giant is also preparing a proposal that would grant the government discounts, Moncau added.

"The government would like to have a different negotiation and we understand that, and we are trying to answer those cost necessities," he said. "We have always defended free choice." Reuters