Munich Authorities Switching Back to Windows Operating System; Describes Trouble with Linux Platform

In 2004, the city of Munich in Switzerland made a drastic change, as they decided to replace Windows with Linux operating system. Authorities believed that the open source OS will be cheaper compared to Microsoft’s pricey operating system. The change has impressed virtually everyone and had even set a trend, with several groups and organizations worldwide also shared the same perspective.

However, after ten years of using the said operating system, the same authorities are preparing to change their operating systems back to Windows since they have realized that the platform was not that effective in providing their technical needs

German media reported that city officials were more into productivity figures of local departments and have confirmed that many employees were actually having troubles with Linux. This is a bit strange however, since that wasn’t the case when Windows was powering all PCs.

Three years ago, LiMux, the open source platform based on Linux and running on computers utilized by Munich authorities, was installed on 9,000 computers, with figures evidently increasing in the meantime.

Apparently, city officials had to contact professional personnel in order to handle computers running Linux and fix any issue that might appear. Staff obviously needed extra training, which again wasn’t the case when Windows was powering their PCs.

Finally, it all boils down that a much more expensive option, so Munich authorities decided to go back to Windows and redeploy Microsoft’s operating system and most likely the Office productivity suite on all their computers.

The fact that Linux is more expensive than Windows isn’t new and British authorities are among those who accepted this before starting the transition to an open source platform.

UK government CIO Jon Creese said on several occasions that Microsoft’s products cost less than before, pointing to the required training and support prices as the key factors for determining the overall value of an investment in new software.