Ecolo, a green political party in Belgium, is planning to complete its move to a complete open source desktop system by the end of 2011. On the 220 workstations in its main office, it will gradually replace the underlying operating system to Ubuntu Linux, says Sebastien Bollingh, the party's ICT manager.
Ecolo decided to increase its use of open source software in 2000. "We started by changing the applications that did not change anything for the users, like the database and the website."
It then started using OpenOffice and other desktop applications, such as web browser Firefox and Gimp for handling images. The first users moved over to these applications in 2007, and a few began using Ubuntu Linux on a few workstations. "This way, we gave a few users a taste of how to use this desktop."
"We are identifying power users that are able to use OpenOffice and got them starting the switch to ODF (Open Document Format) files. Their use of ODF is enticing the others to start using OpenOffice whenever they need to work with a ODF document, and this results in a gradual increase of OpenOffice."
According to Bollingh's experience, users have a hard time to switch to a Linux desktop. "They are used to a certain way of working, and it is really hard to get them to change their habits."
Confusing
He also notices that users find it hard to get used to a new interface, but this works to their advantage. "It seems easier to start using OpenOffice when they are used to Microsoft Office version 2003. It is more difficult to switch from Microsoft Office 2003 to Microsoft Office version 2008. That interface confuses them."
The move to open source however, was an institutional decision made by the party. "The political leaders understand that open standards are key to an IT infrastructure that insures the participation of everyone to the information society and also protects an individual's freedom and privacy. And quite a few of them are very interested in open source."
Using open source is not only because of principles. The group is using the open source mail and groupware server Zarafa, and is now freeing the users from having to use fat mail clients to get to their email. "Zarafa is helping our deputies equally well as the proprietary solution we used earlier. But the fact that we are using open source, has a bigger impact than just stating a preference for this type of software."
Bollingh does not know whether the party's focus on open source is helping them gain votes. "I am sure a few open source advocates are voting for us because of it. We're the only political party that is spending time and effort in open standards."
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