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They recently completed switching over 37,000 of the 72,000 computers to Linux. And they did it in a quite sensible fashion:
"To make the switch less abrupt, the Gendarmerie first moved to cross-platform open source applications such as OpenOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird. That allowed employees to keep using Windows while they got used to the new applications. Only then did the agency move them onto a Linux OS running these same applications.
The migration started in 2004, when the Gendarmerie was faced with providing all its users with access to its internal network. In order to save money, the agency switched from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice. Then the agency rolled out Firefox and Thunderbird in 2006. Finally, in 2008, it switched the first batch of 5,000 users to a Linux OS based on the Ubuntu distribution."
They say their total cost of ownership savings is 40%, I expect it will be higher when they find they can keep older equipment going longer.
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/09/gendarmerie_linux/
"To make the switch less abrupt, the Gendarmerie first moved to cross-platform open source applications such as OpenOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird. That allowed employees to keep using Windows while they got used to the new applications. Only then did the agency move them onto a Linux OS running these same applications.
The migration started in 2004, when the Gendarmerie was faced with providing all its users with access to its internal network. In order to save money, the agency switched from Microsoft Office to OpenOffice. Then the agency rolled out Firefox and Thunderbird in 2006. Finally, in 2008, it switched the first batch of 5,000 users to a Linux OS based on the Ubuntu distribution."
They say their total cost of ownership savings is 40%, I expect it will be higher when they find they can keep older equipment going longer.
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/09/gendarmerie_linux/
