StarOffice finds patron in Haryana Govt

BANGALORE- Sun Microsystems today announced that it has signed a MOU with the Haryana government wherein its open-source based office productivity suite, StarOffice7 will be adopted across the state government departments. The agreement is a landmark event in the history of open-source movement in India as this is the first time that an open-source based office productivity software has been openly endorsed by a state government.

"We are extremely pleased to enter into this agreement with Sun Microsystems. The MOU marks a landmark agreement for us in our efforts to drive IT adoption in the state. This agreement with Sun will enable the government of Haryana to significantly ramp up desktop penetration within its departments, as the cost of installing desktops are expected to come down dramatically. Governments across the world are adopting open standards based technologies in their efforts to free themselves from proprietary technologies that lock them into costly licensing agreements and haphazard upgrades," said Harbaksh Singh, Commissioner & Secretary to Govt of Haryana, Electronics and IT department. "The adoption of StarOffice 7 in Haryana will enable the government to bring down costs and divert these funds to other more pressing social concerns," he added.

"The Haryana government's selection of StarOffice 7 is in line with India's IT vision and the worldwide trend towards open-source based technologies," said Bhaskar Pramanik, Managing Director, Sun Microsystems India. "With the availability of quality low-cost solutions, governments can look forward to tremendous savings. This can be deployed in other areas of development for the greater good of the country. The Haryana government has clearly shown the way to make President Kalam’s vision a reality," he added.

CIOL Bureau