MAlt a CERN project to replace Microsoft products in favor of open source

Project Malt

The European Center for Nuclear Research (CERN) presented the MAlt project (Microsoft Alternatives), You are working to avoid the use of Microsoft products in favor of alternative solutions based on open source software.

The Microsoft Alternative projects (MAlt) started a year ago to mitigate anticipated increases of software license fees. MAlt's goal is to regain control using open software.

This led to Microsoft withdrawing support for an academic institution from CERN in which once the current contract is finished, CERN will have to pay the full cost in relation to the number of users. The calculation showed that the cost of purchasing licenses in the new scenario will increase by more than 10 times.

As soon as this was known, the CERN withdrew its connections and founded the Microsoft Alternatives project (MAlt). At the same time, it negotiated with Microsoft to spread the increased license cost over a 10-year period.

As a result, CERN does not have to pay much more than before. Migrating Microsoft products to free alternatives is a CERN decision, but it will take a few years.

The effort should be comparable to that of the city of Munich when it migrated to Linux. As in Munich at the time, CERN sees itself as a pioneer and a role model, as many other institutions now face the same dilemma.

Over the years, CERN's activities and services have increasingly relied on commercial software and solutions to offer basic functionalities, often taken advantage of by advantageous financial conditions based on the recognition of CERN's status as a research institute, without profit or academic.

Once installed, well distributed and widely used, the leverage used to attract CERN service managers to commercial solutions tends to disappear and is replaced by licensing schemes and business models tailored for the private sector.

About Project MAlt

Project MAlt aims to provide the same functionality to CERN employees as before.

The most important thing is not to eliminate dependence on manufacturers because they are always a risk. At the same time, CERN wants to remain the owner of its own data, which safely excludes external cloud services. Above all, the most commonly used uses should be covered.

The change will begin this year with several pilot projects. Initially, a different mail service will be tested and introduced in the IT department throughout CERN over the summer.

MAlt is a multi-year effort and will now enter a new phase with the first migrations.

The principles of commitment of the project are:

  • Deliver the same service to every category of CERN staff.
  • Avoid vendor lock-in to reduce risk and dependency
  • Keep your hands on the data
  • Address common use cases.

The closest plans marked the replacement of "Skype for Business" with a solution based on an open VoIP stack and the launch of a local mail service to avoid the use of Outlook.

The final selection of open alternatives has not yet been completed, the migration is planned to be completed in the next few years.

Among the main requirements for the new software is the absence of linkage with the provider, full control over their data and the use of standard solutions. Details on the project will be announced on September 10.

The decision to switch to open source was made after a change in Microsoft's licensing policy, which over the past 20 years has provided significant discounts to CERN software for educational institutions.

CERN employees can already view the MAlt project and will be informed at a meeting on September 10. Conversion of all products will take several years, according to CERN.

Source: https://home.cern


Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Miguel Ángel Gatón
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.