I fully agree with Muthoni, we have focussed a lot on hardware and Infrastructure whereas neglecting the software bit, there has been a lot of talk on Local content, unless we have proper strategies in place to govern Software issues then the issues of Local content might as well be a pipe dream, we need to encourage developement of local solutions and this might only when we embrace open standards, i beg to be corrected if i am wrong

On 3/19/08, Dorcas Muthoni <dmuthoni@gmail.com> wrote:
Many countries are now saving lots of money and improving balance of trade by adopting Open Source software.. Brazil, Malaysia, South Africa. With the infrastructure/connectivity getting more under control and hardware prices going down tremendously, software will be the next frontier.

What is the ICT Board strategy around software issues? I believe this would be a good time for us to begin working out clear strategies around software sub sector.

I am curious to know how for example the ICT board will guide a ministry such as the Ministry of Education which apparently has an MOU with Microsoft, the Digital Villages project, Software Development Industry with relation to the outsourcing business opportunities..

Muthoni


FYI,

URL:
http://www.oscc.org.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=189&Itemid=128


Putrajaya, 19th March 2008 - The Malaysian Administrative Modernisation
and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU), today officially adopts a policy
to migrate to the OpenOffice.org open source productivity suite. This is
in line with the Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Master Plan, which
calls for government agencies to reduce costs, increase freedom of
choice and interoperability.

From April 1st, MAMPU will start adopting the OpenDocument Format (ODF),
standard for all new documents created. ODF the ISO open standard for
electronic documents is also the default format for OpenOffice.org. The
agency will also uninstall all copies of Microsoft Office by end of 2008.

To ensure a smooth migration, presently over 80 agency staff have been
trained by the Open Source Competency Centre (OSCC). Additional staff
will then be trained internally by the IT department, which will also
provide support for OpenOffice.org.

Related Documents:

      * Polisi Penggunaan OpenOffice.org MAMPU (in Malay)
      * Mengapa Bertukar Kepada OpenOffice.org (in Malay)

--
Muthoni

My Blog: http://rugongo.blogspot.com/
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Then they laugh at you,
Then they fight you,
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