Leader: The fight for the public sector

This week saw two offensives in the ongoing battle between Microsoft and open source in the public sector.

Microsoft made a move to get cosy with government agencies by saying it would be more open with them on network security issues in order to avoid security breaches.

It's all part of an effort on Redmond's part to stem the flow of public sector organisations switching to Linux and other open source options in places such as Vienna, Paris, Munich and South Korea.

The open source side is not sitting idle. Linux vendor Red Hat has showed its commitment to public sector deals by creating a business unit with the sole purpose of extending the company's already notable list of government customers.

Because, by some analyst estimates, public sector deals account for less than 10 per cent of Microsoft's revenue, one might ask why the company is going to all the trouble. But Redmond appears to recognise the open source wins are a major PR loss.

Each time a government chooses Linux over Windows, it adds to the credibility of the alternatives. The big question, given that so far the deals are relatively small and pose no real threat to Microsoft's balance sheet, is whether the open source wins will create such a flurry that they will lead to more open source wins down the road. As the number of deals mount, they may add up to more than just a minor bother for Redmond's PR legions.

With the open source side showing plenty of bravado - Red Hat, for instance, said last autumn its international business should make up half of it revenue within a year - it's clear this is only the beginning of what could become quite a nasty tussle.