Brazil’s Embratur Goes Open Source

Embratur (Brazilian Institute of Tourism), the Brazilian government’s tourism agency, should finish by April the task of implanting the first stage of free software in all of its computers.

With the measure, the Institute should stop spending about US$ 65,000 with licensing of programs. The economy represents about 33% of the value of all computer equipment from Embratur. 
 
Since 2003, Embratur has been using a webmail system with about 300 accounts, all built around a free platform. If paid, the system would cost the Institute US$ 25,000. The webmail is a system that allows the user to access its email from any computer in the world.


Besides, Embratel has already two sites developed using free open source software: www.braziltour.com, in four languages (Portuguese, English, Spanish and French) and www.brasilnetwork.tur.br. Both bring an extra savings of US$ 7,800 to the government’s coffers.  


The president of Brazil’s ITI (National Institute of Information Technology), Sérgio Amadeu, believes that Embratur is following the example of several other Brazilian public organs, which are adopting free software in order to increase safety, have bigger technological autonomy and also contribute to saving money:


“This movement provokes a chain reaction and a change of behavior in the market. More and more we will have companies with specialized technicians in the free platform applications, which will democratize access to technology and will create jobs”. 
 
According to Carlos Seixas, Embratur’s manager of computer science, free software is a computer program that can be used, copied and distributed freely.


“Commercial products have secret codes and it is a crime to copy them. As for free software not only it can be copied but it can also be modified. Besides all the savings it represents, there is a great political meaning in its use, ” says. 
 
ABr

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazil’s Push to Protect Biodiversity Involves Indians and Slaves Descendants

The purpose of the commission created last week, as part of the Week of ...

Brazil’s Exchange Surplus Close to US$ 500 Million in July

The Brazilian flow of exchange ran a surplus of US$ 491 million up until ...

Brazil’s Bankrupt Varig Is Sold, But Airline Is Not Out of the Wood Yet.

A Rio de Janeiro business court has accepted the sale of Brazil’s biggest but ...

Ministers Hold Talks in Preparation for Chirac’s Visit to Brazil

The Brazilian and French governments are studying the possibility of holding a Year of ...

Brazil Uses Beijing Games to Promote Country and Win 2016 Olympics

A Brazilian space to promote culture, sport, economics and the natural beauties of the ...

Brazil to Increase Coffee Production by Up to 23% This Year

Coffee crop in Brazil this year may beat the 48.48 million bag record, the ...

Gabrielli Cristina Eichholz was raped and killed inside a church in Brazil

Brazil Looks for Rapist Who Strangled 1-Year-Old Girl Inside Church

The Brazilian police have already interrogated without success over 20 people in connection with ...

Brazil Industry Grows Again After Two Months of Decline

The Brazilian industry recorded a 1.8% growth in production in January, compared with December ...

Brazil Gets an Arab Hand on Goat Raising

Brazil is testing a kind of food that is originally from the Arab countries ...

Ah, the Food!

I’ll make a scandal. If I tell something I know!… Don’t provoke me, Alaíde. ...