EC Renews Contract For Microsoft Software

The European Commission has extended a software contract for Microsoft software, despite continued opposition to the use of proprietary software, from open source advocates.

The EC Directorate for Informatics, otherwise known as DIGIT, an independent body that promotes the effective use of IT, has renewed a €49 million (£30 million) contract with Microsoft reseller Fujitsu on 8 December according to Computer Weekly.

“The contract you appear to be referring to is Framework Contract DI-06270 with Fujitsu Technology Solutions, which was the result of an open call for tenders,” an EC spokesperson told eWEEK Europe UK via email.

Open Source Vs Proprietary

“This contract entered into force on 1 March 2008. As stated in the contract notice, its initial duration was 2 years, with the possibility to renew it up to two times, each time for a period of 1 additional year. All the renewal options have been exercised in accordance with the tendering specifications and the contractual terms, so the contract is in force until 29 February 2012,” said the spokesperson.

European software contracts with Microsoft have been criticised in the past by open source advocates.

In December the European Commission signed a six-year software deal called SACHA II (Software Acquisition Channel), with a Netherlands-based supplier, PC Ware.

The Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) labelled the European Commission’s software contract a “rough deal for Europe” and said that the EC’s decision to spend 189 million euros (£158m) on proprietary software over the next six years was “in direct contradiction to its own decisions and guidelines.”

Open Tender

However a letter forwarded to eWEEK Europe UK in December, the IT boss of the EC, Francisco Garcia-Moran, told FSFE president Karsten Gerloff that the contract had been an open tender, saying that Gerloff’s statement had been “totally misleading”  and contained “major omissions”, as the EU part of the SACHA II contract was only for €67.4 million (£56 million).

In October, the FSFE accused the Business Software Alliance (BSA) of pressuring the European Commission to abandon its support for open standards.

This was despite Neelie Kroes, European Commission vice-president for the Digital Agenda, who in June last year called on governments to embrace open standards, after criticising the waste and lock-in associated with some proprietary technologies.

Previously Siim Kallas, the vice president of the European Commission expressed concerns about the security of open source software and open standards, and warned that governments should consider the implications for security and business continuity.

But it seems that since then governments have overcome their security fears regarding open source. The Hungarian government has apparently championed the use of non-proprietary software in the public sector, although some have questioned how committed it is to the technology.

Ongoing Debate

Meanwhile, in the United Kingdom the coalition government has proposed the use of open source tech to help the public sector cut IT costs.

Whatever the issues, the open source versus proprietary software debate has continued for many years now.

A poll of eWEEK Europe readers last August found that enterprises are leading the way in open source adoption, while governments lag behind.

These findings were backed up by analyst house IDC which found that the market for open-source software had accelerated in the slow economy, on top of increased acceptance from enterprise customers.