London Borough of Newham Chooses Microsoft Solution Over Open Source As Best Overall Value

Microsoft Platform Customer and Partner Solution

London Borough of Newham Chooses Microsoft Solution Over Open Source as Best Overall Value Option

Overview “The fact that we can provide a familiar, secure, and Country or Region: United Kingdom stable desktop environment for our staff, which will Industry: Local Government enable us to communicate quickly and easily with our Customer Profile stakeholders, is equally important as the cost reduction Newham Council provides local government and community services to Newham—a benefits for ICT.” strongly multi-cultural and rapidly transforming London borough close to the Newham Council, an innovative and leading-edge local authority in the city centre. United Kingdom, was faced with the need to lower cost and risk, while

Business Situation providing a financially predictable, stable, and innovative information Known as an innovator and leader among and communications technology (ICT) platform to support its ambitious local authorities, Newham is a borough undergoing rapid social transformation. With long-term transformation plans. A multi-disciplinary team under the pressures to further improve services and lead of Capgemini was brought in to evaluate the best possible lower costs, it considered migrating its desktops and servers to Linux in order to solution for the borough, comparing the costs, business benefits, and further improve IT efficiencies. risk profiles of a Microsoft® solution (incorporating Microsoft Windows®

Solution XP and the Microsoft Office System on the desktop, with Microsoft The council compared the cost and business Windows Server™ 2003) with equivalent Open Source solutions. The value of a Linux-based solution and a analysis showed that by standardizing on a Microsoft solution, the Microsoft®-based solution, utilizing Capgemini to complete a study on the borough could lower ICT operating costs, derive additional significant alternatives and make recommendations on the best platform. business benefit, and secure the desired predictability and stability. Specific benefits of an all-Microsoft solution included the potential for a Benefits  Lower risk, better business value, and 13.5 per cent reduction in ICT support and operation costs and double lower overall total cost of ownership the productivity benefits of an Open Source solution.  Partnership with Microsoft in the United Kingdom to provide a predictable, Situation by using Open Source desktop and server As one of the more deprived and socially products, they would be able to lower needy boroughs, yet regarded as an selected ICT operating expenses and the innovator and leader of local authorities in overall total cost of ownership. Also, the the UK, Newham Council is faced with borough could then gain technical considerable pressures to cope with the knowledge of Open Source technologies extensive social regeneration of the that are being discussed in local borough, while meeting statutory government environments. requirements for service delivery targets, performance indicators, e-government Apart from cost, Newham was also looking targets, and legislation changes. In for a solution that would provide a sound addition, the borough faces funding long-term platform for growth and stability. pressures and challenges in terms of By minimizing risk and providing improved resource and asset management. predictability of future costs and opportunities, it could then develop a long- The Information and Communications term roadmap for ICT for the council, and Technology (ICT) function within the ensure a predictable and stable cost borough is also faced with strong pressures model, and sustainable funding. to reduce costs, provide better services, and support improved ways of working Newham also wanted to maintain its through collaboration and remote/home position as an innovator and leader of local working capabilities. authorities in the UK, by making a sound and defensible decision on a future ICT An evaluation of a potential solution was platform, which could then become a role completed by Capgemini and identified the model for other local authorities. following key drivers for ICT within the borough: Newham had two principal challenges: lower ICT operating costs while providing a  Reduce cost (and deliver better value for secure, stable, and predictable money). infrastructure that would support long-term  Deliver business advantage. plans for transformation. The essential  Be predictable, sustainable, and long question confronting the council was how term. to evaluate which solution provided the most effective forward strategy when taking In an effort to reduce ICT infrastructure and risk management, cost, product and market operations costs, the borough considered maturity, flexibility, systems integration, and migrating its desktop and server business process re-engineering capability environments to an Open Source solution into account. that would encompass the desktop operating system, productivity suite, and In essence, Newham needed to determine server operating system environment. The which solution was best positioned to borough reasoned that if they could reduce support the achievement of business their initial upfront ICT infrastructure costs advantage given the long-term needs of the Edition 2003, including the Microsoft Office council. InfoPath® 2003 information-gathering program. In addition, several products from Solution Microsoft Windows Server SystemTM Microsoft® Services proposed a 12-week integrated server software composed the consulting engagement to Newham, to solution. These Windows Server System assess the most value-added combination products included the Microsoft Windows of Microsoft products to provide operational ServerTM 2003 operating system, Exchange and commercial benefit to the council. Server 2003, BizTalk® Server 2004, Capgemini were invited to lead this process Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) in order to: Server 2000 Service Pack 1, Content  Provide an objective view of the Management Server 2004, Commerce feasibility and effectiveness of the Server 2002, and Identity Integration Microsoft solution. Server 2004.  Provide an independent view of the benefits to be gained from the refresh Benefits program. The cost analysis made use of the Gartner  Identify opportunities to further utilize the Total Cost of Ownership Analyst tool as a Microsoft environment to deliver starting point, and was then customized additional value in support of Newham’s and adapted through a series of workshops operational performance and to support and interviews with key Newham ICT and key objectives. New Deal IT Services (the council’s outsourcing partner) staff, to Newham’s The study focused on the following key unique situation. aspects of the solution: It was recognized that Newham was  Understanding the ICT needs of the already performing operationally well borough, and the strategies and plans of ahead of comparable organizations, before the council. the model was applied.  Identifying the solution and defining an appropriate architecture. ICT Support Costs Reduced by 13.5 Per Cent  Examining the total cost of ownership of The customized Total Cost of Ownership the proposed solution for the council. (TCO) analysis showed that when  Identifying other potential areas of benchmarked against best practices, a business value and advantage arising desktop migration to Microsoft Windows XP from the solution. Tablet PC Edition and the Microsoft Office  Addressing Newham’s risk and financial System and a server migration to Microsoft predictability issues. Windows Server 2003 could allow ICT to provide the same level of service to The solution ultimately recommended by Newham as is currently being provided Capgemini consisted of: the Microsoft through Open Source, but reduce ICT Windows® XP Tablet PC Edition operating support costs by 13.5 per cent. system and Microsoft Office Professional This equated to a cost saving of per cent lower than the switching costs of approximately £650,000 (U.S.$1.2 million) migrating to an Open Source platform. This per annum, which could be realized by was because of the higher costs of training either lowering the ICT operating costs for ICT and users, the need for additional Newham while retaining the same levels of testing on the new platform, increased service, or reinvesting to improve service support levels for the users subsequent to levels without increasing cost. Over a five- the migration, and the costs for converting, year time frame this would amount to a testing macros and the 120 office-based cost saving or deferred investment of £3.2 custom applications that exist within million (U.S.$5.8million). Newham.

These savings were partly as a result of the Key Additional Areas of Business Advantage reduced complexity in the new environment The study further highlighted a number of (standardization) and partly because of the areas of business advantage for Newham improved desktop and server management that would be derived from the new capabilities of the Microsoft solution. infrastructure. These were:

Benefits on Microsoft Environment  Flexible Working Benefits. Tablet Significantly Better than Open Source PCs, wireless connectivity, and improved Based upon the Gartner TCO tools, the remote access capabilities within the study also indicated that an Open Source new solution would facilitate mobile solution would provide approximately half working and allow Newham to use skilled of the cost savings of a comparable resources far more effectively. This Microsoft solution, but would cost three would result in reduced administration times more to implement due to support, reduced travel to and from the significantly increased migration costs. office, and the reduced need for office accommodation—with the possibility of The estimated cost savings for the Open introducing “hot desking” within the Source solution, based upon Linux desktop council. and server operating systems and either StarOffice or OpenOffice as the productivity  Unified Identity Management. application, were in the region of 7 per Improved identity management, single cent, per annum, as compared to the 13.5 sign-on, and user/e-mail account per cent saving per annum on ICT support management will improve the integrity of costs with the Microsoft solution. The the user accounts, and result in lower Microsoft solution had potentially double administration costs and improved the productivity associated cost savings of security for ICT, as well as improved an Open Source solution. productivity for the user.

Microsoft Migration Costs 68 Per Cent Lower  Communicating with the Public. than Open Source Migration The new platform could also be used to In addition, the migration costs for the improve communications with the public Microsoft solution were estimated to be 68 via e-mail and Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, Newham’s Mayor Sir Robin Wales said: thereby lowering communication costs, “The fact that we can provide a familiar, improving public satisfaction, and secure, and stable desktop environment for encouraging greater levels of feedback. our staff, which will enable us to communicate quickly and easily with our Risks of Migrating to Open Source stakeholders, is equally important as the Capgemini further identified a number of cost reduction benefits for ICT.” additional risks for Newham if they decided to migrate to an Open Source platform. Microsoft as a Partner for Local Authorities These were: A key decision point for Newham, even given the lower cost, improved business  Security Issues on Open Source. value, and lower risks of the Microsoft Open Source vendors are currently solution, was the ability to establish a experiencing more vulnerabilities and secure predictable, sustainable, and long- receiving more security advisories than term funding model with the chosen Microsoft. In addition, Microsoft has vendor(s). made a substantial investment in further improving security levels with its Newham found that Microsoft Services was Trustworthy Computing Initiative. willing to support them in this goal, by providing the following:  Issues around Compatibility. An Open Source platform is likely to reduce  A Local Government Partnership Newham’s ability to exchange Programme that provides close documents both inside and outside the association with a select number of local council, which could lead to unhappy authorities and influencers that provide customers and increased costs. detailed knowledge  Use of Microsoft Local Government User  Lower Productivity. The need to re- Forum to allow a broader market contact learn the desktop productivity suite and and feedback the issue of document incompatibility  A solution reference programme to with customers, other Local Authorities, promote uptake of Microsoft technology and colleagues, could lead to lower overall productivity. The appropriate licensing mechanisms, coupled with an active role for Newham in  Problems with Language these mechanisms, demonstrated that Support. The Microsoft Office System Microsoft Services was willing to step up to supports over 40 languages, which is the challenge of assisting Newham in important to a borough with such a reaching its transformation goals, by degree of cultural diversity. In working as a partner, rather than purely a comparison, Open Source solutions vendor. support only 11 languages, which could The study conducted by Capgemini proved cause issues for Newham. that the Microsoft solution better fulfils customers demands than Open Source, For More Information and would satisfy Newham’s needs as a Microsoft Windows XP Professional For more information about Microsoft stable, low risk, cost-effective, financially delivers the new standard in reliability and products and services, call Microsoft Ltd. predictable, and innovative platform, able performance. This operating system is in the United Kingdom at +44 0870 601 to support the ambitious transformation designed for businesses of all sizes and for 0100. Outside the UK, please contact plans of the borough, as well as the users who demand the most from their your local Microsoft subsidiary. To constant evolution of business needs and computing experience. access information using the World Wide IT innovation. Web, go to the UK site: For more information about Windows XP www.microsoft.com Other local authorities in the UK look to Professional, go to: Newham for technology leadership. The www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro For more information about Microsoft council’s adoption of a current and more Services visit the Web site at: sophisticated desktop and server Microsoft Office is the business world's www.microsoft.com/services/microsoftser infrastructure will no doubt help to influence chosen environment for information work vices the technology decisions of its counterpart that provides the software, servers, and authorities. services that help you succeed by For more information about London transforming information into impact. Borough of Newham, visit the Web site Richard Steel, Head of Newham’s ICT, at: said: “While using Open Source might For more information about Microsoft Office www.newham.gov.uk provide some short-term cost benefits, the System, go to: longer term benefits related to technology www.microsoft.com/office and thought leadership of standardizing on a Microsoft platform are significant. While Microsoft Windows Server System is a not easily quantifiable, these benefits are comprehensive, integrated, and nonetheless a vital component of our interoperable server infrastructure that decision-making process. We are confident helps reduce the complexity and costs of that a standard Microsoft desktop and building, deploying, connecting, and server infrastructure will reap great operating agile business solutions. dividends for the council and its Windows Server System helps customers constituency." create new value for their business through the strategic use of their IT assets. With the Windows Server operating system as its foundation, Windows Server System delivers dependable infrastructure for data management and analysis; enterprise

Software and Services − Microsoft SQL Server 2000  Products − Microsoft Systems Management − Microsoft Office Professional Edition Server 2003 2003 − Microsoft Windows Server 2003 − Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003 − Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC − Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 Edition − Microsoft BizTalk Server 2004 − Microsoft Commerce Server 2002 Partners Microsoft Content Management  Capgemini © 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. This case − study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT Server 2004  Microsoft Services MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, BizTalk, FrontPage, InfoPath, Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Windows, the Windows logo, Windows Server, and Windows − Server System are either registered trademarks or Microsoft Identity Integration Server trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States − and/or other countries. All other trademarks are property of 2004 there respective owners. Microsoft Server 2000 Service Pack Document published August 2004 − integration; customer, partner, and employee portals; business process automation; communications and collaboration; and core IT operations including security, deployment, and systems management.

For more information about Windows Server System, go to: www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem