14 DAY TRIAL // The Egyptian government signed a deal with Microsoft on December 26 to install and maintain licensed software on computers used by several departments, with local authorities to pay the Redmond-based technology firm a total of $44 million (€32 million) over the next four years.
The high cost of Microsoft’s apps, however, is forcing the government to consider implementing open source software, as local activists are claiming that much better products are available at no cost.
According to Egypt Independent, local authorities have created what they call the “National Open-Source Strategy,” a special group of experts supposed to support the adoption of open source software in several government departments.
It’s estimated that Egypt could cut costs by as much as 80 percent if they decided to dump Microsoft and its expensive products, with the money to be then used for other national campaigns.