NZ Outfit Dumps Open Office For MS Office

(Score.5, Interestin writes "The NZ Automobile Association has just announced that it is dropping Open Office and switching back to MS Office. According to their CIO, 'Microsoft Office is not any cheaper, but it was almost impossible to work out what open-source was actually costing because of issues such as incompatibility and training.' In addition, 'you have no idea where open-source products are going, whereas vendors like Microsoft provide a roadmap for the future.'" About 500 seats are involved. MS conceded to letting Office users run the software at home as well.

Roadmap to the future?

[canUbeleiveIT]

All roads lead to $$$$$

May I point out

[also-rr]

That it's office productivity software. You can generate your own road map.

*Version +1. Just like the current version, but with slightly more features and shiny icons!
*As above.

What are they worried about? That the OpenOffice roadmap might include:

*Given up on office suite. This version is a badger tracking application. Enjoy!

Re:roadmap??

[orasio]

"A roadmap for the future" ??? You're just as much at the mercy of M$ as you to the OO.o developers. What kind of security can one kind in M$'s supposed "roadmap for the future". Bah!

That is measurable.
You can look into previous roadmaps, and measure how much they have come through in the past.
You can do the same with open source, and free software projects.

OO didn't have any issues coming through with planned features in the past.

I don't think MS had any issues with roadmaps, my Longhorn Tablet PC works great with WinFS right now.

Re:May I point out

[Anonymous Coward]

Badgers?! Badgers?! We don't need no stinkin' badgers!

Re:Some valid points.

[bealzabobs_youruncle]

Well I guess that ansswers that, so now MS just has to find a former employee to fill every CIO seat in the world and they are all set...

Re:wait wait

[pavera]

hmm, I haven't heard of MS giving "home" copies since office 97/windows 95.

In fact, I worked at a company that still thought they had home copies (big 5000 person company, big volume license deal), and they had to pay almost 10 million in fines to the SBA for their "home" copies.

Not trying to defend MS or anything...

[benhocking]

But, fair is fair. OO.o also let them have 500 seats for free. :)

pricing opensource

[EreIamJH]

"...but it was almost impossible to work out what open-source was actually costing..."

They kept getting a div by $0 error.

Re:Sniff, sniff...

[ClosedSource]

OO.o and what version of MS Office are supposed to have less issues than Office 2003 and 2007?

Re:Sniff, sniff...

[iminplaya]

All that fancy stuff...Makes me wonder who we all survived the last century and before. All that fancy stuff and the world is still at war. I suppose it all just makes the wars that much more profitable when we know exactly how much ammunition and armor to dole out to the troops. Gotta cut back on the waste somewhere. I don't believe all that collaboration is helping a hell of a lot of people. But a penny saved...