Meeting with Mark Pawsey at Drury House 3^rd September 2010

During Mark Pawsey's previous visit to OpusVL,  we offered to provide a hands-on demonstration of Open Source so he could see first hand how a Linux desktop looks and feels. Mark arrived with Ian from his research team. 

Prior to the visit, Mark had provided a list of the applications he uses on a regular basis at his constituency office as well as in his London office. This included Email, calendaring, Instant messaging, general office applications and a bespoke case management system.

The Demo Kit

Based on this information, Stuart set up a demonstration computer for them to use. This computer was an HP DC7600 P4 3Ghz with 1GB ram which was purchased for under £50. Installed was a default installation of the latest Ubuntu 10.4 Linux Desktop. Stuart was keen to show Mark and Ian that open source solutions did not necessarily need an expensive or high specification computer to run on.

Brief History

Stuart gave a brief history of other graphical desktop systems including Microsoft, Apple, and Xerox and how these lead to the system that was demonstrated. He also explained how the current Apple operating system is based on the Linux system.

What Mark Uses

Marks' computer currently runs windows 7 and he regularly uses email, a calender application, web browser, Microsoft office as well as a bespoke casework management system designed for MPs.

Open Source Equivalents

Stuart demonstrated the open source equivalents to these, including Evolution email and calender. Firefox web browser and OpenOffice. Mark was surprised at the simplicity of all these applications and how user friendly they were. He asked about other software that would be comparable with some recently bought voice recognition software. Within a couple of seconds, Stuart had found equivalent software online and showed Mark how it could be freely and easily downloaded.

Parliament Decides

Mark agreed it would be good for open source alternatives to be available to MPs but that at the moment they are issued with propriety software as standard, even though the costs of this are high for each MP. This is what is currently dictated by the parliamentary IT team. At this point Ian discussed how he uses open source at home as well as propriety software. He began using the Ubuntu operating system when his computer crashed four years ago and finds it very reliable and easy to use.

Security

Mark asked about security on the computer when using open source as with other propriety software firewalls and anti virus software can be bought and installed. Stuart explained that open source is generally safer and there are less viruses than other software due to the lower numbers of systems and that the Open Source code is rigorously reviewed. If a virus does get on to the system, damage is limited to the particular user profile and unlikely to affect the whole system.

Management Systems

Mark agreed that, in theory, all of his day to day business could be transferred to open source applications with the exception of their casework management system which is currently provided by an independent company. He admitted that there are issues with this management system which cause problems. Stuart pointed out that quite often specialised systems are designed by the wrong group of people. He stated that technical consultants may be better used to design a modular business process that encompasses not only what is needed now but that can be be grown easily in the future.

Technical Help

Another point Mark raised was regarding support and help that is available with open source applications. Currently he can access technical help from parliament but is concerned that would not be there if he changed to open source. Stuart explained that a company like OpusVL would be there for any technical issues that arose from their business process systems but also reminded Mark that open source is generally more stable and reliable than its propriety counterparts. Should an organisation adopt Open Source, the internal support team should be trained in a way that enables them to continue to support their user base.

Moving Forward

Nick Gill, business partner with Stuart, joined the meeting to talk further about open source within government procurement and the public sector. He said that the greatest risk for public sector is ensuring they get value for money. He shares the same view as Stuart that before IT tenders are released, the specification should be thoroughly investigated,designed and written by specialist consultants.

Mark and Ian will investigate to see if there are any all party parliamentary groups already set up with an interest in open source and are also keen to arrange a meeting between OpusVL and PICT.

Mark and Nick also plan to meet up at a party conference in Birmingham shortly.