Linux Special: Case study - Powys County Council

Around two years ago, Powys County Council in Wales started using Linux - and hasn't looked back since. It now uses open source software for a wide range of Internet and intranet applications and has based its entire National Grid for Learning (NGfL) project on Linux.

The rollout was a gradual process, starting with the internal email servers. But as the council begins embarking on new projects, it is using Linux across the board. For example, it is now in the process of migrating its public information system from Windows NT to Linux running on an Apache Web server.

The council has 125,000 constituents and covers almost a quarter of Wales. As with most IT projects in the public and private sectors, cost was a crucial element in the NGfL rollout. It had to provide email and Internet support for all pupils in primary and secondary schools within the region without spending a fortune.

Tim Fletcher, IT project officer at Powys County Council, argued that by using open source software, he could cut the cost of the project by 75 per cent - a saving of £750 per school. In a video interview with Silicon.com published last week, he said this was primarily because "you don't have to have the overhead in terms of heavy processing power that you would expect with NT".

One of the men responsible for introducing Linux to the council was Simon Annetts, technical support officer. He agreed that cost was a major benefit: "We can do a lot more for less money and as our budget is always being squeezed that is an essential factor."

However, cost was not the only factor. "We found that systems built around Linux on the same hardware that we had been running NT on were more reliable. They didn't crash and we don't need the constant maintenance to keep it up and running," Annetts said.

This meant that Powys could get more for less - either using cheaper hardware and getting similar performance levels, or using the same hardware and getting far higher performance.

In addition, Fletcher argued that Linux was the only OS which would give the council true scaleability. "It enables us to make one box which will ultimately provide access to the Internet and provide all children with email accounts and then replicate that box to put one in every school."

This, he added, "provides us with a cost-effective solution, an accessible solution and a replicable solution that we can roll-out as and when we want".

One of the key criticisms of Linux is that it doesn't have the levels of support that are offered by the likes of Microsoft. But both Fletcher and Annetts said this is an advantage. "Once you've learnt how to use Linux, you can continue to build on that expertise - you're not forced to migrate from this platform to another platform because of the vendor deciding it no longer wants to support this particular piece of software," Fletcher argued.

Another criticism of open source software is that it lacks security. But Annetts said this wasn't an issue either. "All operating systems have an element of security issues. With Linux, it's easier for people to identify where the holes are, whereas with NT you have to take Microsoft's word for it that there are no holes there."

Although some applications will stay on NT, Powys County Council will continue to develop all future projects on Linux - not only because of the cost savings but because "you are in control of what you want to do. You know where you are going, you know how you are going to get there and you are actually able to manage those processes," Fletcher concluded.