Council's decision on £4.3m Microsoft "ransom"

Cost of the product has surged but leaders fear there is no alternative



Coventry council is pressing ahead with plans which could see them pay a staggering £4.3 million to kit out its staff with Microsoft computer software, despite fears they are being “held to ransom”.

Cabinet has agreed to appoint a reseller to renew a three-year licence Microsoft contract when their existing £823k per year deal expires next March.

A like-for-like renewal is now estimated to set them back £1,073,000 per year – a 30 per cent increase - with further £365k-a-year costs for a Skype licence pushing the total for three years to £4.3m.

At a cabinet meeting last Tuesday, leader of the council Cllr George Duggins admitted they are caught “between a rock and a hard place” due to no alternative suppliers.

Paul Ward, head of ICT, said one of the main areas in the licence cost increasing is the strength of the pound in comparison to the dollar.

He added: “For us to move away from Microsoft entirely would take several years. We are keen to push Microsoft to deliver and demonstrate value.”

Shadow Cabinet Member for Strategic Finance and Resources Councillor Ken Taylor said other councils use software that is not Microsoft.

He said: “There are people such as Google who do have platforms which are used in other authorities. Certainly in Northumberland.

“We are being held to ransom here basically.

“You have got nowhere else to go. Even if we are looking at an alternative, even if we do not think it will suit us, it will at least give us something to negotiate with.

“If I’m a salesman for Google I would be saying ‘yes, here is the alternative’. If we are looking at other systems maybe that’s the negotiation we can go to Microsoft with.”

I find the council's stance quite amusing accusing others of ransom!

In fact, it's the council's own lack of foresight and commercial awareness that has allowed this situation to develop. - They put all their eggs in one basket!