Misleading 'Report' Claims Government Could Save Billions on Open Source

A front group of some type called MeriTalk has issued a press release (pdf file) claiming the U.S. government could save more than $20 billion over three years by using open source software, SaaS/cloud computing and virtualization.

Actually MeriTalk released 14 .pdf slides that it calls a “report.” The “report” is one of the weakest pieces of research ever foisted on the public. In fact, the group admits that the claim is unadulterated cow manure by slyly putting a two-point-type footnote on the savings claim. The footnote says

… the Federal government cannot realize the total aggregated savings from the three approaches as, in some cases, they reduce overlapping costs.

The more than $20 billion would amount to 33% of the Federal infrastructure spending budget for the period. In addition to the absurd footnote that leads off the MeriTalk "report," the finding is based on the absurd assumption that the Federal government currently makes no use of open source software, SaaS/cloud computing and virtualization. I would guess that the U.S. Federal government is the leading user of all three (simply because it is the leading spender on information technology). The logic that gets the “report’s” authors to the $20 billion is tortured at best, a total purposeful fabrication at worst. The sources for the assumptions are disjointed and based on press reports about press releases about research findings unrelated to the Federal government.

A Yahoo Tech News article about the “report” claims that the report was sponsored by Red Hat (RHT) but the only connection I see is that Red Hat will sponsor a May exhibition, run by MeriTalk, where some of these mind-numbing statistics will be discussed. I am never hesitant to call out Red Hat when they are involved with propaganda front groups promoting so-called Open Standards. But in this case I hope Yahoo did Red Hat wrong by associating it with the “report.”

But MeriTalk must be some kind of propaganda front group because no organization without an agenda—and no press person with a conscience—would release such incredibly misleading data. It is disturbing—1930's Nazi-propaganda-like, in fact—to see people being used in this way while jobs are being cut and people are losing their homes.