“Free is a way of thinking and to put people at the center rather than plating solutions solutions developed by US computer giants” says Jean-Christophe Becquet, president of April, the promotion association and defense of free software to the general public, businesses and institutions.
To ensure his vis-à-vis independence any editor monopoly is not a bed of roses. Commit off the path already beaten by the American leaders of IT requires a change of mindset and a real motivation.
But for now, it remains a long process of evangelize territorial makers already committed by the militants of the cause of freedom. The image of free software is still suffering from the stereotype of the so tinkered free program. “It is the Veblen effect (also called snobbery effect, note), that the quality of the machine is determined by its price to potential customers. To counter this, we must explain that allowed people work rigorously on a global scale to improve the software with the obligation to document their developments, “argues Jean-Christophe Becquet.
The authorities must put the hands-on to contribute to the development of own solutions to their business still missing (see box), but also support users more familiar consumer market solutions.
“The approach is twofold , moral and economic, says Christophe Lhardy, IT director of Bezons (Val-d’Oise). Today obstacles are no longer technical but psychological, do not neglect the accompaniment. We can adapt the office software so that they are close to the ergonomics of Apple or Microsoft environments. But as when the car is changed, there is still commands that are not placed in the same locations. With smartphones, many have discovered Android and got used, I rely on this argument to convince them. “
Free Licenses, Pay Maintenance
‘C’ is a long-term project, it does not happen in a snap. It takes political will and elected officials who understand that there is nothing worse for a community than be captive for a publisher that does not give him the model of their data, “said François Aubriot, President of Ploss-Rhône-Alpes, a network of companies that only income the services offered on free software. At the national level, they unite around the national software Council. This market close to 300 SMEs is less visible than that of the partner networks of the big publishers. “Of course, we must find a provider able to install and configure free software, he admits. But one has the right to be wrong and to change providers and keep the same software. “
The economic model of free software is based on maintenance costs, similar to proprietary software. Specific developments are re-sharing. “In the proprietary world, we not only give our time for the evolution of their software, but in addition we pay for upgrades,” says Christophe Lhardy. The motivation of the DSI is not always sufficient. A Bezons, for example in his team 6.5 positions to computers, only one person knows how to develop in Linux …
Due to time or skill, you must turn to a provider who will software maintenance and donate new developments on collective platform of the chosen software.
In Scop
The Addulact, the largest shared network of communities in France, s ‘relies on its 250 members who contribute to the improvement of developments by conviction or accede to monitor and to participate in the forums. The launch of new developments mobilizing more financial resources, the association has created Adullact Project, a cooperative and participatory society (SCOP). “To create a new application, you must write code and projects are not always easy to distribute among the teams of computer scientists of our members. The cooperative takes a risk and finance from its own funds. It is a virtuous circle that finance on maintenance contracts offered to accompany the installation, “explains Pascal Feydel, general delegate of the Adullact. Certainly the communities that downloads software on our forging tend to look primarily to the one who developed it. ” This choice deviates from that of free digital companies who wish to share their software. “The publisher of a free software will not put it on the forge of Adullact, because it is almost certain that the service will be made by the cooperative,” says François Aubriot president of Ploss Rhône-Alpes, a network of companies that have only income the services offered on free software.
Tenders
To promote business response of free software, tenders must clearly be free of proprietary systems. This is far from being the case for tenders below € 300 000 that specify most often the type of PC or server, although this is illegal. A Bezons, for example, to encourage response providers of free software, Christophe Lhardy systematically indicates the technical provisions relating to the characteristics of an application running on the web, based on open standards.
“In However, it may indicate the need for a base of free software and launch the tender for a competition of services for installation, training and maintenance, “adds François Aubriot. In addition it promotes the local and national economy because for 100 euros invested in proprietary software, only 10 benefit the national economy, with the free, these are 100 euros in France. “
The question may therefore arise at the time of renewal. “Recently, following a tender for telephony services of the Town Hall, we had a response in free offer. We were on the verge of switch but the facilities were more expensive than the direct provision of the manufacturer. I defend this cause but not at any cost, over time I have become pragmatic, says Christophe Lhardy. I advance more maverick. “
10 arguments for free software
- Free Licenses
- The savings on the cost of licenses may be invested in training
- Investment protection
- Open source software use standardized data formats that enable interoperability (1) and conservation long-term data
- Keep control of business solutions to avoid being captured an editor
- Facilitating innovation internally a dedicated team
- Applications 100% compatible with the web
- Gain public money by pooling community developments
- Support for local and national economy
- Facilitate open data. The created data formats natively open
- Freedom to leave its service provider in case of non satisfaction without changing software
6 obstacles to overcome
- Political commitment of elected representatives.
- A manager believes information systems.
- Create the territorial developer communities for business software that does not have free alternatives (finance, human resources, marital status …).
- Prepare tenders favoring the response of free digital service businesses and condition the contract on sharing of specific developments.
- To assess the cost of the flip of a proprietary environment to an open source environment. Gains are evaluated long term. It’s an investment in time and accompanying benefits.
- Train internal skills that never developed Linux in their career or use external maintenance services.
No comments:
Post a Comment