The Portuguese municipality of Vieira do Minho has been using open source software solutions everywhere, for more than a decade. These software solutions saved the public administration thousands of euro. It resulted in an IT system that fits the administration's needs perfectly. And, open source has increased the efficiency of its public services, according to a case study published on Joinup earlier today.
Budget planning has proved that open source has always been the best solution for Vieira do Minho, the case study quotes Marco Candeias, a senior municipal official. "I can say without reservation that we save money every time we implement open source software."
António Rebelo, head of IT: "The main lesson we take from 13 years of open source software is that institutions can save thousands of euro as well as gaining freedom, allowing the users to personalise their experience. We are not prisoners of the IT vendors and we can grow our solutions at our own pace to suit our needs."
Cost savings, reliability, safety and simplicity are the strategic reasons for the town's administration to implement open source. This type of software solutions is used for running the the majority of servers and applications, including database management, telecommunication, geographic information systems and office productivity. This strategy allows the city "to give all citizens who interact with our services the best possible experience, in the shortest time."
Vieira do Minho's first open source project started 13 years ago. At that time the town started implementing its first open source system, for management and filling of requirements. This first experience opened the door to a completely new chapter in IT systems in the municipality, demonstrating the cost-effectiveness, flexibility and independence from IT vendors.
More information:
Joinup case study