Possibilities of use of Free and Open Source software in theGreek local authorities
Stavros Koloniaris [email protected] George Kousiouris [email protected] Mara Nikolaidou [email protected]
GoalsRecord and audit the current
situation in the IT departments of
the Greek local authorities
Locate and propose solutions using
FLOSS by comparing known
implementations of nations (China,
Russia etc.) and cities (Amsterdam,
Munich, Barcelona etc.)
Suggest solutions using new
technologies
Benefit assessment
Estimation of obstacles and
problems
1/4 Hardware & Software
16.8%13.6%
32.9% 33.9%
2.8%
Usage percentage of each CPUgeneration
IntelPentium oreq.
AMD
IntelCoreor eq.AMD
IntelCore
Duo/Core 2
Duo oreq.
AMD
Inteli3, i5,i7 or
eq. AMD
IntelXeonor eq.AMD
0
10
20
30
40
18.4%
35.7% 37.2%
8.8%
RAM availability percentage
1GB 2GB 4GB >4GB0
10
20
30
40
Almost half of PCs need CPU
upgrades
More than half of them also need
memory (RAM) upgrading
Few are the authorities whose
internal network speed is less than
1000BASE-TX (Gigabit)
There are 14 Municipalities that
are using VM technology and/or
thin clients
31% of computers operate with
abandoned OS
42.6% will need OS upgrade in the
next 5 years
OS usage percentage in workstations
Windows XP/Vista 31.1 Windows 7/8 42.5
Windows 10 23.6 Linux 2.3
MacOS 0.5
2/4 Servers & Services39 municipalities still have servers with
an abandoned operating system
40 municipalities have servers with an
operating system that is near its end of
life
Usually offered services are:
Database services
File storage services
Backup services
Application services
Desirable services are:
Electronic submission and processing of
applications
Issuing of certificates
Electronic payments
Usage of Cloud based solution is very
small
OS usage percentage in servers
Windows NT/2000 5.1
Windows 2003(R2) 28
Windows 2008(R2) 33.9
Windows 2012(R2) 17.8
Windows 2016 2.5
Linux Server Edition 12.7
10% 21% 61%Implementation of
public cloud
solutions
Implementation
of private cloud
solutions
Cloud solutions
not available
3/4 Supporting cost
66% of municipalities rely on inhouse IT
staff for support
98% is somehow dependent on an
outsource partner
The total cost of software support is
estimated to be €1.650.000/year
Few responses to existing software
problems, mostly
Reduced functionality
Unable to upgrade due to high costs
66%
98%
Support from the
inner IT
department
Outsourced support
87%With maintenance
contract
7%With pay per hour
support
5%With pay per visit support
4/4 FLOSS Usage There is some familiarity with FLOSS
35% of the participants believe that
replacing proprietary software with
FLOSS will have positive consequences
Few believe that they will not be
accepted by end-users
The main advantages of FLOSS are:
Low or no cost
Active user communities that actively
maintain and upgrade FLOSS
The main disadvantages of FLOSS are:
Limited functionality
Insufficient training in using FLOSS
Inadequate support
Estimation of proprietary oriented upgrading cost
Use of FLOSS Available FLOSS have up to half system
requirements comparing to proprietary
equivalents
FLOSS OS for servers offers
Increased stability
Immediate update and upgrading
Increased security level
Better management
There are FLOSS equivalent to all
proprietary software and usually have
lower resource requirements
There are alternatives even for special
purpose software (Payroll, HRMS, e-
protocol, CRM, CAD etc.)
Many of these work as web-based
applications
Cost of acquisition, installation and use is
small or even none (eg. server OS support
plans -if needed- for as low as $75/year)
Use of new technologies All municipalities have the same or
similar needs
They could have had services provided
over the internet by centralized
management
One for each main region
From a common central, eg KEDE
(Central Union of Greek Municipalities)
Hardware and software costs would be
reduced
Common services provided
Platform-independent services
Reducing needs for staff
Centralized management for easy
Statistical data management
Planning and forecasting
Immediate changes simultaneously to
everyone
User training and problem solving
Information and training on FLOSS is
needed
National Public Administration & Local
Government (ESDDA) already offers
some training
Some providers offer FLOSS-based
computer certificates
Problems that may arise
Incompatibility with older software and
data forms
Incompatibility with older hardware
Resistance to change
Conclusions
Municipalities can benefit from the use of
FLOSS and implementation of new
technologies by
Reducing software costs
Increasing the life limits of the hardware
Eliminating the need for expensive
hardware
Reducing the need for external support
Reducing the need to maintain a large
number of IT departments
Central and integrated management will
offer
Centralized statistics gathering and
management
Better planning and prediction
Immediate changes offered
simultaneously to everyone
Possibilities of use of Free and Open Source software in theGreek local authorities
Thank you!
Stavros Koloniaris [email protected] George Kousiouris [email protected] Mara Nikolaidou [email protected]
