IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Fall 2013 - 43
than 700 respondents (the largest
number in the surveys' history), the
main challenges to the adoption of
OS software were clearly identified
as unfamiliarity and lack of internal technical skills.
Government Support for OS
Software
As shown in Table I, governments
in several countries now support
adoption of OS software [6].
In Mauritius, workshops have in
the past been organized by the Government. for example in August
2003 a workshop organized by
the Mauritius National Computer
Board [24], a parastatal body aiming at promoting the development
of ICT in Mauritius. Initiatives have
been taken by the Linux User Group
of Mauritius, established to promote
Linux, GNU, and free Software in
the country, and to create awareness of OS software and share local
expertise on its application. Some
IT shops also allow the buyer to purchase laptops with Linux installed,
hence eliminating the need to pay
for the license of a proprietary operating system. However, workshops
organized thus far have not targeted the population at large. State
schools, both primary and secondary, still use proprietary software in
their computer labs and therefore a
huge amount of money is spent on
licenses.
Mauritius Study
Methodology
In 2011, a seminar on OS software
was organized at the University
of Mauritius which provided a
unique platform to bring together
decision makers, IT professionals, people from the industry and
academia, and students, as well
as the general public. A survey
was conducted during the seminar to gather feedback from all the
stakeholders. The survey was prepared with the aim of identifying
the current status regarding the
use of OS software in Mauritius
and the challenges that lie ahead,
Satisfaction with Proprietary Solution
Not the Goal of the Company
Dependence on a Supplier
Lack of Resources to try
New Technology
Company Policy
Compatibility Problem with
Existing Systems
Already Using Open Source Software
Insufficient Knowledge
0
5
10 15 20 25
Responses (%)
30
35
Fig. 2. Barriers to adoption of OS software.
and to gather proposals about
how to address those challenges.
The questions addressed different
aspects of OS with respect to personal and professional usage. The
most salient questions addressed
the following:
■ Operating system used, whether proprietary or OS, to have
an estimate of the percentage
of OS software users in the
community.
■ Demographics
of the user
base. Such questions were
used to profile the users and
non-users of OS software.
■ The kind of software tools
being used in daily personal
and professional activities and
the perceived user experience.
These questions were aimed at
learning the computer usage
of the sample population
and determining how far the
users were aware of the OS
counterparts.
■ Technical difficulties experienced and solutions obtained
while using OS and proprietary software. These questions
aimed at determining the IT
literacy and competence of the
user base.
■ Assessing the perceived usability of OS software in the
community. These questions
were set to evaluate the experience of users with respect to
OS software.
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE
|
fALL 2013
Very Difficult
5%
Difficult
12%
Very Easy
37%
Neutral
23%
Easy
23%
Fig. 3. Rating for ease of installation and maintenance of OS
software.
■
■
■
Assessing the hindrances and
reasons for avoiding OS software. These questions were
aimed at finding potential
obstacles, and figuring out
policies that can be established
to overcome them.
Reasons for using OS software. This was to understand
the main reasons that led to
the adoption of the software so
as to streamline efforts in OS
education.
The budget allocated to software acquisition in the recent
past (three years) and whether
open-source solutions will
become an integral part of
the IT infrastructure in the
future. These questions aimed
at obtaining an estimate of the
|
43
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