HomeMy WebLinkAboutFCS-11-050 - Windows 7 Office 2010 Software UpgradeREPORT TO:Members of the Finance and Corporate Services Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
March 21, 2011
SUBMITTED BY: Rhonda Bunn, CIO/IT Director, x3089
PREPARED BY:
Dan Murray, Manager of Client Services, x2825
WARD(S) INVOLVED: N/A
DATE OF REPORT: March 14, 2011
REPORT NO.:
FCS-11-050
SUBJECT:
Windows 7 / Office 2010 Software Upgrade
RECOMMENDATION:
For information only.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This report outlines the considerations that have been made in the choice of the Microsoft
Windows and Office software products. The report examines current business trends, market
share of various software products and how those factors play into the City’s standardized
Microsoft software platform. During the budget process, the question was raised as to whether
we had considered Linux as an option for desktop and this report addresses that question.
Information Technology plans software platform upgrades on a periodic basis in order to ensure
that computer hardware and software is compatible with current technology and to ensure that
the computer systems can be kept secure and supportable. The current Windows XP/Office
2003 environment has now been in use for seven years. The upgrade to Windows 7 / Office
2010 has been strategically planned and is an important step in keeping the City’s computer
systems up to date and operating effectively.
A switch to Linux on the desktop is not recommended for the following reasons:
Staff would require significant investments in re-training in Linux – both end users and IT
staff who would be supporting the platform.
The majority of the City’s enterprise applications are not currently supported in Linux and
could not be properly operated in that desktop environment requiring re-investment in
staff time and software acquisition costs to replace those applications with compatible
versions. The current value of these software assets is estimated at $19 million dollars.
A number of the peripherals used across the City would not be supported in Linux
requiring staff time to research and then purchase compatible devices to meet the
business need.
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A migration of this nature would take significant time (2-5 years) likely requiring
operating two desktop environments during the transition period adding additional
expense and staff frustration.
Other possible alternatives such as cloud-based services cannot currently guarantee the City’s
legal requirements under the Municipal Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
(MFIPPA).
Information Technology does currently make use of open source software in many areas within
the network infrastructure such as web servers and firewalls. We are receptive to using open
source products where appropriate in the computing environment.
City staff will be bringing forward a tender award recommendation to Council for the purchase of
the licensing required to upgrade to the Windows 7 / Office 2010 software platform on March
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28. A 15% financial savings ($144,000) will be realized by the City if the purchase is
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completed prior to March 31 due to the re-negotiation of the Ontario government purchase
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agreements with Microsoft that will take effect on April 1, 2011.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Kitchener has a solid computer and network infrastructure that provides reliable
services to the various business units within the City. The network environment consists of over
50 separate sites within the City, 850 personal computers, 150 laptops and over 100 network
servers. In order to support the many various business functions that occur across the City,
there are over 450 software applications that are installed across the organization. This entire
desktop environment is maintained by the Client Services section of IT which consists of 15 staff
which supports City staff with all software, hardware and network infrastructure support.
The City has now been standardized on Microsoft Windows and Office products for over a
decade. Information Technology plans technology upgrade cycles factoring in device and
software compatibility, product support lifecycles and computer security. These upgrade cycles
have generally been planned for every five years - a generally accepted industry standard
lifecycle. The current Windows XP/Office 2003 software platform was initially deployed seven
years ago and has served the City extremely well. However, in order to continue to provide a
reliable computing environment, it is important that we begin to move to the Windows 7 / Office
2010 environment.
During 2011 budget deliberations, questions were posed by Council in regards to the potential
for financial savings if we were to consider the use of open source software products for our
corporate desktop computers. This report is provided in response to those questions.
REPORT:
Desktop Software Platform Upgrade
The City’s current Windows XP and Office 2003 desktop software platform was initially deployed
over seven years ago. While this platform has served the organization very well, in order to
maintain the reliability of the desktop computer environment, Information Technology (IT) must
begin the upgrade process. The entire upgrade process will realistically take two years for staff
to complete at which point the technology will be nine years old.
Windows 7 and Office 2010 are the most current releases of the Microsoft platform and is the
direction that is recommended in order to leverage the City’s existing investment in business
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software as well as existing staff technical skills. Windows 7 offers increased support for new
computer hardware allowing the use of more system memory which is quickly becoming a
limiting factor in the current desktop environment specifically for those using CAD or GIS
applications. New laptop computers being purchased no longer support the use of Windows
XP. Windows XP and Office 2003 are both currently in “extended support” from Microsoft which
means that the products are no longer being developed or enhanced. Newly discovered
security vulnerabilities are still being addressed by Microsoft at this time but this support will end
soon leaving those still running Windows XP susceptible to any newly revealed security issues.
Windows 7 offers a number of new features that will be essential to deliver on strategic focus
areas such as mobile computing. Likewise, the Office 2010 suite contains a number of features
that will assist with collaboration of City staff – another strategic focus area for the City.
Market Share of Common Desktop Computer Operating Systems
The Microsoft Windows platform of operating systems currently powers a desktop market share
estimated at over 90% of all desktop computers.1 The Mac OS X operating system is estimated
at 7% with Linux claiming just over 1% of the desktop share.
There are very specific market sectors that utilize Linux and Mac operating system
environments. The Mac operating system environment is very popular in marketing, publishing
and media creation due in part to the very powerful applications available for Macs for creative
purposes. The Linux desktop software environment is most prevalent in academic institutions,
research companies as well as in the financial industry.
In the general business office environment, the Microsoft Windows software environment is the
hands-down market leader and is expected to retain that market dominance for the foreseeable
future.
Office Productivity Suites
Office productivity suites typically consist of an electronic mail client, word processor,
spreadsheet and presentation software. The City has standardized on Microsoft Office which
offers considerable benefits such as:
Outlook’s tight integration with the Exchange email system, RIM Blackberry and
Blackberry Enterprise Server.
Direct integration support with many of our corporate enterprise applications such as
SAP, Amanda, Onpoint
Staff familiarity with the software – using a product that is likely used at home by staff or
at a previous employers limits the requirement to train staff to use an alternative
package
High levels of integration with other software products such as the City’s new VoIP
phone system and emerging collaborative products.
High level of manageability with the City’s existing network architecture. Patch
management, software updates, configuration changes can be centrally managed by a
small group of staff
The Microsoft Office suite currently has an estimated 99% of the market share in the Canadian
business environment according to Info-Tech Research Group, a London, ON based analyst
firm. Microsoft continues to invest heavily in the development of the Office suite and continue to
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1 "Updated 2010: Windows 7 Commercial Adoption Outlook". Forrester Research. 2 November 2010.
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provide increasing levels of integration with all their new collaboration products as do third party
software vendors looking to leverage integration as a selling feature for their own software.
Open source products such as Open Office offer a viable alternative to companies that have
limited requirements and are looking for a basic office productivity suite. Open Office has still
not obtained enough market share that commercial software vendors are investing in the
integration with their products.
Another emerging area in productivity software is in hosted applications also known as cloud-
based applications. Two examples of these online options are Google Docs and Office Live.
These options show potential promise for the future but there are still a number of
considerations that need to be addressed in terms of municipal data security before it could be
considered as a viable option by the City. Legislation such as the Municipal Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act (MFIPPA) applies to all information the City has that
may contain personal information. This legislation requires the City to be able to protect and
control access to this information which is impossible to guarantee in current “cloud based”
product offerings.
Support for the City’s Enterprise Applications
A significant suggestion in the recent Corporate Information Technology Strategic plan was to
further leverage our enterprise applications across the organization. As a technological area
for which a significant financial investment already exists, an assessment was done in regards
to the support for alternatives to a Windows/Office software environment with these
applications.
Enterprise Application Non-Windows Support Non-Office Support
SAP Client Partially supported in Linux (printing Supports Lotus 123 and MS
functions are limited) Office – no support for Open
Office
PeoplesoftSupported in Linux / Unix (client is Not applicable
web based)
ClassNot supportedNot supported
AmandaNot supported Not supported
OnpointClient supported / Server must be Not supported
Windows
CityworksNot supportedNot supported
Content Management Browser must be Internet Explorer – Not applicable
(iCreate)only available on Windows
CISNot supported Not supported
Commercial Software Availability
Microsoft Window’s large market share has been consistent for over a decade leading to the
lion’s share of all commercial software applications being developed for Windows platforms.
The wide variety of Windows software available in the municipal services sector creates a
competitive marketplace allowing municipalities to tender for the lowest cost product that meets
the business needs of the organization.
In an alternative desktop environment such as Linux, the commercially available software
options would be greatly limited and may require custom development of software which is
costly and would require considerable time for development. Custom software development is
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also a direction that is contrary to those recommended in the recently completed Corporate
Technology Strategic Plan.
Client Services maintains a database of all software that is actively used in the organization
which currently lists over 450 specific applications. An analysis of the list identified only 26
applications (roughly 6%) for which Linux versions are available for purchase. Using the
information gathered during the PSAB annual reporting process, the estimated replacement
value of the City’s current software assets is over $19M. A change in desktop software
environments would need to consider the cost to re-acquire software that would support this
new environment.
In the early 2000’s, Linux was expected to become a viable competitive desktop software
environment. Many software companies announced their intentions to provide their products for
the Linux environment. Since then, many of these companies have stopped development of
Linux versions of their software and are again focusing solely on delivering on the Windows
platform.
Device and Peripheral Support
This large market share of Windows also plays a key role in the availability of compatible
devices and peripherals. In a large corporate network like the City’s, many different types of
peripherals are required to support day to day operations. Such devices can be fairly standard
office equipment such as laser printers or application-specific devices that receive building
alarms or test the thickness of ice at the arenas. Again, the vast majority of devices on the
market require the Windows environment. Vendor support for other platforms such as Linux is
often limited requiring the use of generic drivers. Where drivers do exist, they often don’t
support the full feature set of the devices. For instance, a multifunctional office printer may
allow you to print but not make use of the advanced duplexing or stapling functions installed.
Staff Familiarity with Microsoft Products
The level of staff familiarity with the products that we use also needs to be considered when
choosing a desktop software environment. Most City staff with a computer at home are likely
running Microsoft Windows with Office installed on it. It is also quite likely that in any previous
employment, staff members have used and been trained in the use of both the Windows
operating system and the Office product suite. This high market prevalence of the Microsoft
products benefits the City in that staff are likely to already have reasonably well developed skills
with the products. This, in turn reduces the requirement to provide basic software training to
staff. This allows new City staff to enter the office environment and immediately be effective
with the desktop software environment.
There have also been considerable investments in training of support staff in IT over the past
decade. IT staff has been trained in Microsoft products in order to effectively deploy and
support them and have gathered a great deal of practical knowledge of how best to implement
and manage Microsoft software across the organization. A shift to a new software environment
would a require considerable investment in the re-training of staff as well as a considerable
learning curve while they learn how to be effective in a new software environment.
Open Source Software at the City of Kitchener
While Linux is not a strong contender for the City’s standardized desktop computer
environment, open source software is currently in use for specific functions in our server
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environment. Open source software such as Linux, FreeBSD, Apache and Tomcat are used for
web and application servers, security appliances and firewall functions. Server applications
typically have very specific roles and the limitations mentioned earlier that prevent open source
software from being viable on the desktop are removed. Information Technology is receptive to
the use of open source software and will continue to employ it where appropriate.
Microsoft Software License Acquisition
The Ontario Ministry of Government Services, I&IT Procurement Branch maintains Master
Business Agreements with Microsoft that are negotiated on behalf of all Broader Public Sector
(BPS) entities within the province. This allows all Ontario municipalities, regardless of size, to
acquire the software licenses at the lowest cost possible.
The City has leveraged this opportunity for the past decade and has been able to obtain
Microsoft software at significant discounts. It is our intent to continue to utilizing these Master
Agreements negotiated by the Ontario government, coupled with a tendering process to obtain
the deepest discounts vendors can provide to obtain the lowest possible cost.
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On April 1, the Ontario government master purchase agreements with Microsoft are being
renewed. Software licensing costs will rise 15% with the new agreements in order to
standardize pricing with other provinces in Canada. City staff are intending to bring a tender
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recommendation to Council on March 28 in order that we can complete the purchase prior to
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April 1 to lock in the lower licensing costs for the next 3 years.
ALIGNMENT WITH CITY OF KITCHENER STRATEGIC PLAN:
Efficient and Effective Government – standardizing on the Microsoft Windows and Office
desktop software platform will assist in the goal of maximizing technology to support timely,
relevant and accurate information; optimizing technology solutions that will enhance our ability
to interact and communicate more effectively with our internal and external clients; and develop
an enabled and knowledgeable workforce.
People Plan – A Culture of Learning – continuing the standardization of the Microsoft Windows
and Office desktop software platforms will ensure that we are leveraging the knowledge of our
staff that has been developed and fostered through both in-house and external training
investments.
FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS:
The anticipated cost to enter a three year purchase agreement with Microsoft to upgrade our
current software is expected to be $320,000/year (total cost of $960,000 over three years). The
funding required for this three year purchase is approved in the current budget. The estimates
include the 15% savings ($144,000) that will apply if the purchase contracts are executed
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before April 1.
An approximate breakdown of those costs for each component is below:
Server Client Access Licensing (CALs) - $300,000
Windows 7 Operating System Licenses - $160,000
Microsoft Office 2010 Software Licenses - $500,000
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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:
N/A
ACKNOWLEDGED BY:
Dan Chapman
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