Open source code software saves schools money on licence fees
No Windows on computers at Lappeenranta school
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By Juhani Saarinen
When seventh grader Joonas Puuska switches on the computer in his school library, it’s not the familiar Windows that appears. Instead, it is the big Ubuntu logo, under which Puuska types in his name and password.
Puuska, a pupil at the Lauritsala School in Lappeenranta, shows the software on the computer, which includes word processing, picture modification, a web browser, a spread sheet, and various teaching programmes.
The appearance of the desktop on the screen is similar to the traditional one, but the computer uses the Ubuntu operating system. Puuska dies not really like Ubuntu, because the computer tends to crash.
“Windows has more software, and it is easier to use it”, Puuska says.
Just over two years ago the school decided to get computers for its library and classrooms which worked with open source software. The term means that the programme can be developed by anyone, and that the end result can be freely used by anyone else.
These kinds of programmes are usually available for free, while commercial software requires licence payments. Coss, which is Finland’s centre of open source programming, has calculated that the public sector in Finland spends about EUR 180 million a year on software licences.
The figure is probably close to the truth, as the state spent EUR 66 million on licences in 2008, and municipalities spent slightly under EUR 100 million, according to the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities.
Coss executive director Ilkka Lehtinen sharply criticises the use of commercial software.
“We scatter money in small crumbs around the world”, he says.
Lehtinen compares commercial licences to a fish trap - something that is easy to swim into, but hard to get out of. Licence fees tend to stick because it is difficult to change software.
He feels that open source programmes would often be the better alternative. However, even they are not completely free; maintenance and updating of the programmes requires work, but the services are available from Finnish companies instead of international software giants.
“The question is, if we want to throw money abroad, or keep it in the country”, Lehtinen says.
Open source code software is becoming more popular. The Ministry of Justice has taken to using Open Office, which is believed to save them about EUR 1 million a year.
Timo Rantanen of Hansel, which deals with state acquisitions, has noted that the state and local authorities have possibilities to save money.
One problem is that software does not exist for every programme, nor are there services to keep them operating.
Heikki Lunnas, information society expert at the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities, says that compatibility is another issue. Hundreds of different programmes are used in Finnish municipalities, and it might be difficult to adapt them all to a new system.
“How would it be integrated into the whole? Is it possible to use patient management systems with it? In most cases, no”, Lunna says.
Lauritsala school headmaster Jaakko Kosonen is pleased with the system that the school chose. The pupils complain about the lack of games, but the costs are lower than is the case with commercial software.
“The characteristics of the programmes are more than adequate for the needs of schools”, he says.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 24.5.2010
JUHANI SAARINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
juhani.saarinen@hs.fi
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| 25.5.2010 - THIS WEEK |
 Open source code software saves schools money on licence fees |
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