Auf Wiedersehen, Microsoft: Germany Signs with IBM

The German government has decided to move its federal, state and local agency IT systems to Linux, citing reliability issues and a desire to reduce its dependence on Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT).

Toward this goal, the country has signed an agreement with IBM (NYSE: IBM), which will provide related hardware, software and services to the German government.

"It is our joint goal to establish future-ready e-government structures in the administration of Germany," said Erwin Staudt, CEO of IBM Germany. "It is indispensable to support Linux as a platform for those activities."

IBM said it will deliver its eServers hardware preinstalled with Linux produced by SuSE Linux AG, a German company.

Security Concerns

Explaining why Germany has chosen to take the Linux leap, Otto Schily, Minister of the Interior of the Federal Republic of Germany, said in a statement that the country has grown more concerned about security since September 11th.

Linux is seen by some to be more secure and reliable than other operating systems, since its underlying code is constantly under scrutiny by a legion of volunteer open-source programmers.

"A necessary precondition for [security] is the use of trusted systems, especially trusted software," Schily said.

Linux Penguin Pride

European countries have favored Linux for a while and tend to favor local distributors of the operating system.

"SuSE is a hometown player," Al Gillen, research director of systems software at IDC, told the E-Commerce Times. "If you look at who's distributing Linux, you'll find there's a certain amount of affinity toward a product that's produced locally. There's a certain amount of nationalistic pride there."

Gillen added that Linux also comes with a lower price tag than other systems, such as Microsoft's. Saving money, both initially and in the long run, is very enticing for government agencies, he said.

Like their European counterparts, some U.S. entities have been eyeing Linux for similar reasons.

Big Blue's Big Push

IBM has actively pursued government customers and already has such clients in China, Singapore and Australia. In the United States, the company has inked contracts with the Department of Agriculture, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Energy and the Air Force.

IBM said it believes Germany's decision is part of an overall movement toward open source software that will gain momentum in the future.

The company also said it believes that where government goes, business will follow.

"If you look at corporations today, you'll see they have a heterogeneous environment," IBM spokesperson Alise McNeill told the E-Commerce Times. "When you work with open standards, it's easier to integrate business processes. When you get locked into proprietary systems, it's more complicated to connect all the pieces and parts that come with that."

A recent IDC report gave weight to the theory that a Linux revolution may be imminent. The report stated that Linux is now the number two server operating system in the world, with about 27 percent of the market. Microsoft's various Windows operating systems power about 40 percent of servers and most desktop computers.

Shutting the Windows

Once a customer of the Redmond, Washington-based software giant, the German government now says it is ready to loosen its Microsoft ties.

Schily said Linux offers the best alternative to Windows, and adding that using open source software will give the country more independence. He termed an environment of Microsoft-only products a "monoculture."

"Germany is absolutely making a conscious decision to move from a proprietary-based system," McNeill said. "From Microsoft, specifically."

Microsoft does not plan to bow out quietly, however.

An optimistic Microsoft spokesperson told the E-Commerce Times, "Microsoft enjoys a strong relationship with the German government, and we look forward to helping it address its IT needs in the future."