It has come to my attention that the City still has a number of older computers running Microsoft Windows XP and older versions of Microsoft Office. When the need arises to update their software because XP will no longer be supported by Microsoft, i.e. provided with security updates (April 8, 2014 and Vista on April 11, 2017 [1]), these computers will not be able to run the current version of Microsoft Windows, Windows 8, let alone the then-current version.
These older computers have nothing inherently wrong with them, and likely won't by 2017, except being "under-powered." For multiple reasons, including economic, practical, and philosophical ones, I see no reason that money should be spent to replace those perfectly fine computers and buy new licenses for new versions of Microsoft Windows and Office when there are more cost-effective alternatives available: Free Software.
"Free software" respects the freedom of the user, roughly to run, copy, distribute, study, change and improve the software, and is not a matter of price even though most free software is available at no cost[2]. These freedoms create many advantages for the City over using proprietary software, including a multitude of support vendors who have the ability to actually fix problems encountered and an increased number of eyes on the software being used leads to faster turnaround times for bug and security fixes.
<Your City> would not be alone in such a decision and can learn from the experience of others. The City of Munich provides an excellent example of a successful transition. From the decision to start in 2003 until 2013, when 13,000 PCs had been switched, Munich has saved over $13 million[3]. The City of Largo, Florida is recognized worldwide for its selection and implementation of free software. With freedom-respecting "word processing, electronic mail, spreadsheet, scheduling and office automation software, the IT department continues to provide extensive savings"[4]. Among other French agencies, the Gendarmerie has saved millions by switching to Free Software, and found that minimal user training was required[5].
Using the many cities and government agencies that have already transitioned as examples, I am sure the City could enact a smooth, cost-saving, and freedom-preserving transition from their current setup. Additionally, free software will enable the city to continue to use their current fleet of computers without creating a sluggish user experience (increasing productivity and decreasing support calls). When a computer does need to be replaced, inexpensive, low-power computers can be bought and still give the end-user a responsive experience. Moreover, no software licensing fees need to be paid.
Since the freedoms the software affords allow no single company to be the gatekeeper for the development of these systems, more eyes are focused on providing improvements and security updates and features. Additionally, there are multiple large, knowledgeable, reputable vendors that can not only provide support, but fix problems. The choice of vendors will allow the city to find a support package that is right for it in terms of both cost and support quality.
The current selection for free operating systems support almost exactly the same hardware that Windows does, as well as the same protocols for user authentication and network drives, among others. This compatibility should decrease the problems encountered in a migration, especially if is rolled out incrementally, enabling any issues to be dealt with on a small scale first.
While, unfortunately, some proprietary programs may need to remain for a small number of niche applications, their free alternatives can be used by the majority of the staff who do not need all the features of the proprietary package. These free alternatives support most of their proprietary software's equivalent features and file formats, along with free file formats.
Another important aspect of a switch to Free Software, is that it would allow citizens to access data and documents without having to pay money to private organizations for the software required to read the data and documents. These freedoms are the ideas behind Code for America and President Obama's Open Government Initiative. Transparency in government is good for many reasons, and presenting people data in formats that they'll be able to read is a good step towards transparency and openness.
The existence of smooth transition paths, experience of others who have done the transition, short- and long- term cost savings, and the free access of city data and documents by citizens are all excellent reasons to seriously consider the idea of using free software as the workhorse of the City government.
Feel free to contact me directly, but additionally consider the Free Software Foundation (I am a non-affiliate) as a resource as well. They can be contacted by phone at 617-542-5942 or via mail at
Free Software Foundation
51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor
Boston, MA 02110-1301