TMCnet News
Sun recommends open source software for LatAm(BNamericas.com Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)Mexico and Latin America ought to opt for open source software as a means of closing the digital divide, Mexican daily Reforma quoted Sun Microsystems (Nasdaq: SUNW) president and COO Jonathan Schwartz as saying during a recent visit to Mexico. According to Schwartz, the principal benefit of open source is being able to avoid paying license fees because the software is developed by a community of manufacturers worldwide. "Schools, governments, companies and organizations don't have to pay huge sums for the use of an operating system or office applications when they can obtain them without paying a penny in license fees," Schwartz said. According to the studies carried out by the Maastricht Economic Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT), the cost of proprietary software for emerging markets is enormous in terms of the purchasing power. For example, the cost of Microsoft Windows XP and Office XP on Amazon.com in the US is almost three times the monthly per capita GDP in South Africa and almost 16 times that number in Vietnam, Schwartz said. Schwartz said Mexico and other Latin American countries have an advantage over developed nations in that they are still building their technology platforms and, therefore, have the opportunity to build those platforms on open source and hence cut costs. According to Mexico's statistics agency INEGI only 6% of SMEs use IT in their business processes. |