[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Micro$oft is killing small town budgets- no mention of analternative?

[Fred James]

I sent the URL to the budget people here - maybe next stop is the 
council people?
I am well aware of the entrenchment issue, and I understand their point 
- I just think that eventually it will all come down to bottom line, 
like it always has before.


brian at pongonova.net wrote:

> On Sun, Oct 07, 2001 at 04:03:27PM -0500, Kevin E. Ivey wrote:
> 
>>Stillwater is a nice little town and they have a very well done web
>>site:
>>...
>>I wonder if there is a LUG or a good supply of geeks in the area who can
>>help guide them toward the alternative a la Largo, FL.
>>
> 
> The chances of this are slim to none.  One of the problems I've encountered when
> talking to to town "officials" about the problem is that the people whose jobs
> depend upon Microsoft technology (usually IT types with lots of money in Microsoft
> certs) are certainly not interested in pursuing a technology that will probably
> cost them their jobs.  Garland, for instance, is spending close to $600,000 in
> this year's budget for Microsoft upgrades.  I, for one, can't imagine what $600,000
> will buy in Microsoft products, but that's a large chunk of change that most cities
> write off as "operating costs."
> 
> The way to solve this problem isn't through geeks banding together.  It's a
> problem of politics, of money:  Show the town leaders how they can save money
> without alienating their workforce.  To these types, the technology itself isn't of
> paramount important (that's obvious, or they wouldn't be using Microsoft in the
> first place).  *Sell* them on the idea that alternatives to Microsoft will enhance
> *their* careers by reducing taxes and expenditures. This is a job for the
> politically savvy, not the inherently geeky (although a politically savvy geek
> would probably be just what the doctor ordered).
> 
> But don't bother wasting your time trying to convince the city IT departments.
> You're seen as nothing more than a threat to their continued well-being.
> 
>   --Brian
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> 
> 
> 


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