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Brazil to go open source
Aims to save billions

By Ron Coates

Published: Thursday 22 April 2004

The Brazilian government is to go open source in a big way to slash the $1.1bn a year it spends in licence fees.

After trials in a dozen agencies, including the Ministry of Defence, according to the Financial Times, Brazil's government is putting a major effort into cutting its dependence on foreign software suppliers.

According to the report, at least five ministries are to switch their internet servers and most desktops to open source. The federal government is also providing incentives to state and local governments to follow suit.

It has launched a training programme, which will start next week, to teach installation and use of open-source software to an initial group of 1,400 engineers.

The government hopes that the switch to open source will stimulate its own computer industry. The massive country has taken to the internet with tremendous enthusiasm. It has the world's eighth-largest number of web servers and some of the highest growth rates for internet adoption and PC purchasing.