You are here: silicon.com > Software > Operating Systems

Operating Systems

Biggest ever Windows to Linux migration announced

Munich confirms Microsoft snub for 14,000 machines

By Jo Best

Published: 17 June 2004 13:55 GMT

Munich – the city whose switch to Linux was seen as so significant it attracted a personal visit from Steve Ballmer – has announced that its year-long trial has proved a success and the local government is sticking with open source for its desktops.

The migration will officially take place on 1 July, with 14,000 desktops to permanently migrate to the open-source platform. The pilot was run by SuSE Linux and IBM but the eventual contract – which could be worth tens of millions of euros – will be put out to tender.

A roadmap for the 'LiMux' project, which will see 16,000 city employees change operating system, was developed by the two vendors but the government hasn't decided on whether to use it or not yet.

The city's shift to Linux is the biggest ever move from proprietary software to open source, with municipal PCs and notebooks migrating from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice and using Mozilla browsers. The decision was taken after city officials voted 50 to 29 in favour of making the change.

The decision will doubtless come as a blow to Microsoft, which pulled out all the stops to get the city to stay with proprietary software.

According to a document seen by USA Today, among the concessions the software behemoth was prepared to punt Munich's way were undercutting a Linux bid by $12m; letting Munich license some stripped-down Windows and offering training and support for nothing.

It's thought the migration will be complete by 2008 or 2009.

Earlier this week, Norway's second city, Bergen, announced it would be following in Munich's footsteps and opting to run on Linux.

  1. Zones
  2. Management
  3. Networks
  4. Software
  5. IT Services
  6. Hardware
  1. Verticals
  2. Public Sector
  3. Financial Services
  4. Retail & Leisure

for IT White Papers Newsletter

Tim Ferguson Exclusive: Former MySQL boss Marten Mickos talks open source Why Microsoft could become one of the "biggest friends of open source" and why Oracle getting its hands on MySQL could be "one of the biggest open source coups ever"...

Naked CIO Naked CIO: Cloud computing more expensive than we thought? Smart IT leaders will examine the impact of how they pay for tech


  • Jobs
Senior Linux Systems Administrator

Understanding the commercial aspects of Service Infrastructure This role will require 24/7 shift cover which will include nights. Key words: Linux, ...

Quality Assurance Engineer Nov 5

Acting as an Employment Agency on behalf of our client, this prestigious organisation requires a Q/A Engineer Academic Qualifications (Must Haves): ...

IT Support Engineer - 12 hour shifts (Day & Nights)

Full driving license If this describes you and you are ready for your next challenge, apply today! Support Engineer Based in Exeter 20,000 + 20% ...

Agenda Setters 2009
Welcome to the ninth annual Agenda Setters poll – silicon.com's list of the top 50 most influential individuals in the technology and IT industries, from techies and CIOs to entrepreneurs and business leaders. Find out more in our latest special report.





Quick Sitemap Links: