Housing Authority opts for open-source

The NHA launched its Open Source Software Master Plan last year and it is expected to be completed in 2012.

The director of the NHA's Information and Communication Department, Tertsak Muenkaew, said open-source software had already been installed in 500 of the authority's desktop computers and plans were on schedule for installation on the remaining 1,500.

"Our desktop computers are leased, and we separate contracts with vendors in to 500 units per year. So, when we implement open-source software we do it contract by contract," said Tertsak.

Currently, the authority's PCs operating as computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) units are yet to receive open-source software, while PCs used in daily operations, forefront services and servers are being converted one leasing contract at a time.

The first benefit will be a saving of at least Bt4.5 million per year in licensing fees.

However, using open-source software is expected to pave the way towards a further extension of the NHA's systems in the new open-standard computing era. Importantly, it will enable the authority's employees to familiarise themselves with the use of open-source software.

"For PCs used on routine front-end tasks, we can immediately transform them to open-source software. But for those that are operating back-end applications such as CAD/CAM, these will need modification, rather than full conversion to open-source software," Tertsak said.

The authority's enterprise resource planning system - although implemented by a vendor - was developed by the NHA's 30 in-house developers. It operates 12 main systems, such as a deed-management system, a sales-and-service management system, and a debt-management system.

"Our applications need a lot of customisation to imported software, which is designed to serve customers around the world. It is unable to fit our requirements, so we do a lot of customisation, and that led us to thinking about a greater use of open-source software in our critical systems. We plan to do it step by step, without disturbing routine tasks or our customers' benefits," Tertsak said.

The NHA has an annual IT budget of between Bt150 million and Bt220 million, that is mostly spent in upgrading infrastructure and developing applications in order to improve the authority's services.

Currently, The NHA has around 150,000 customers who are home-buyers. It also deals with about 200,000 construction companies. The authority also operates 28,000 residences under the government's cheap-house (Ban Ua Athorn) scheme and 4,000 NHA houses.

"We can still manage the vast applications efficiently by using open source software. So, we asked ourselves why we have to pay more for unnecessary matter,' said Tertsak.