[iosn-general] Malaysian Government Saves Big with Open Source

[Khairil Yusof]

The results of OSS implementation go far beyond dollars saved — fewer
constraints on technical staff, elimination of red tape and delays in
procurement, ease in customizing applications — but it is often the
cold, hard cash at the bottom line that sticks in the mind. For the
government of Malaysia, which embarked upon its Malaysian Public Sector
OSS Master Plan in 2004, the transition has apparently paid off.
According to the Open Source Competency Center (OSSC) of the Malaysian
Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) —
Malaysia's primary governing body — to-date, Malaysia has saved RM40
million (about $11.2 million) in licensing fees [PDF] by implementing
Open Source software. Of that RM40 million, more than RM12 million ($3.4
million) has been saved through the use of OpenOffice, which is
installed on more than 12,760 government systems. More than RM5 million
($1.4 million) has been saved by the Ministry of Health, nearly six
times that of any other agency's disclosed savings.

Read full article at LinuxJournal:
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/malaysian-government-saves-big-open-source?