The government agency that recommends which technology
schools and colleges should use has told them to review the
benefits of adoptingWindows
Vistaor Office 2007, because of
interoperability and value for money issues.
Becta has published
a key report on Microsoft Vista and Office 2007 and on document
interoperability.
Becta recommends that schools and colleges review the findings
of the report before considering any large-scale investment or
deployment.
Stephen Lucey, Becta's executive director of strategic
technologies, said, "Our objective is to make sure schools and
colleges get the best possible value for money. Our advice is to be
sure there is a strong business case before upgrading to these
products, as the
costs are significant and the benefits remain unclear."
Lucey said, "We also want to see easier access to competitor
products enhancing innovation and choice."
The key recommendations of Becta's report:
* Upgrading existing ICT systems to Microsoft Vista or Office
2007 is not recommended, and mixed Windows-based operating
environments should be avoided. However, Vista should be considered
where new institution-wide ICT provision is being planned.
* No widespread deployment of Office 2007 should take place
until schools and colleges are sure that they have in place
mechanisms to deal with interoperability and potential digital
divide issues set out in the report.
* To ensure widest compatibility of files between different
applications, users of Office 2007 should not save in Microsoft's
new Office format (OOXML).
* Owing to limitations in Microsoft's implementation of the Open
Document Format (ODF) international standard, users should in the
short term continue to save files in the more widely adopted .doc,
.xls and .ppt formats.
* Pupils, teachers and parents should also be made aware of the
wide range of free-to-use products currently available and on how
to use and access them.
* The ICT industry should be facilitating easier access to
free-to-use office productivity software.
Becta's report follows its interim report published in January
2007, which concluded the new features of Microsoft's Vista product
added value but did not justify early deployment in the education
sector.
It also stated that Office 2007 contained no "must have"
features for schools and colleges and Microsoft should develop an
underpinning business case to justify deployment in the education
sector.