The local authority is standardizing on Sun’s StarOffice for 5,000 users, replacing a plethora of alternative productivity software suites including Microsoft Corp Office, Corel Corp WordPerfect, and IBM Corp’s Lotus 1-2-3.
The move is set to save Bristol GBP1.4 million ($2.6 million) over the next five years as part of an ongoing drive to increase efficiency savings laid down by the UK Government’s Office of Government Commerce.
The selection of StarOffice follows a pilot scheme run on 600 desktops in the council’s Neighbourhood and Housing Services department, and was agreed earlier this week by Councillor John Bees, Bristol’s executive member for central support services.
The agreement will not see the complete displacement of Microsoft Office, however. An unspecified number of users will retain Microsoft Office where this is a requirement for technical features not yet fully supported in StarOffice, such as Visual Basic for Applications.
Additionally 1,800 desktops in Bristol’s education service, including schools, will remain on Microsoft Office due to the preferential financial terms Microsoft offers the education sector, according to Bristol. Education users will still have access to StarOffice if they prefer to use it, however.
Bristol’s adoption of StarOffice follows its implementation at Penwith District Council in Scotland and proof-of-concept trials at the Central Scotland Police, and the Office of Government Commerce Buying Solutions.
