Munich chooses Linux over Microsoft

I haven’t seen this discussed widely yet - but TDNBW (This does not bode well) for Microsoft: The city of Munich, Gemany decided on 2003-05-28 to migrate from Windows NT to Linux and OpenSource based solutions for their 14'000 desktops.

Sources: Microsoft kann in Munchen nicht “fensterln” (heise.de) Suse Press Release

While this is only a small dent in Microsoft’s bottom line it’s good to see that there are institutions that don’t rely on a monopoly for their IT needs. Interestingly enough, IBM is in the pole position to realize this project. This jibes with what Joel writes in his Strategy Letter V:

**Headline: IBM Spends Millions to Develop Open Source Software.** Myth: They're doing this because Lou Gerstner read the GNU Manifesto and decided he doesn't actually like capitalism.

Reality: They’re doing this because IBM is becoming an IT consulting company. IT consulting is a complement of enterprise software. Thus IBM needs to commoditize enterprise software, and the best way to do this is by supporting open source. Lo and behold, their consulting division is winning big with this strategy.

Now Microsoft is screaming murder, the conservative CSU says that Munich is embarkin on an Software Adventure. It’s going to be interesting to see how this turns out. Now it’s time to write detail concepts in Munich.