Violation of IT Policy

[V. Sasi Kumar]

Please see the tender at
http://www.itmission.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=361:request-for-proposals-rfp-for-selection-of-tsp-for-setting-up-of-a-geoportal-and-clearinghouse-for-the-kerala-state-spatial-data-infrastructure-ksdi&catid=49:tender-notices&Itemid=44
It looks like the new organisation that is coming up, namely, KSDI, is
going in for buying very expensive proprietary software. I am pretty
sure that most of the proposed work can be done using Free Software, and
I am not even sure that there are people here who can really make use of
all the software they seem to have asked for. If there is anyone in the
list who can make an assessment, please post your conclusions here. In
any case, I think the community should respond, possibly with a letter
to the Chief Minister.

Best
--
V. Sasi Kumar
http://swatantryam.blogspot.com

[Ashik S]

i went through the software part of the docuement ( Its about155 pages ). Things i noticed.

* They want it to be on Windows - IIS is named specifically in one place.
* They want the application to be in java.
* DB Server specs says that it should support Oracle RAC and DB2cluster
* DB Server specs also says that its OS should be unix, but the server must support SUSE and Redhat 5 as future options .
* All the rest of their server specs specify that they must support WIndows, Redhat/Turbo/SuSe Enterprise servers , Novell Netware and VMWare
* OEM software for management of physical and virtual servers must be included as standard. It should be able to integrate with enterprise management software like HP OpenView, Tivoli & CA
Unicenter

We can draw all sorts of conclusions from here. One thing that is sure is, they are not looking specifically for FOSS.
The people who get the contract are going to get a very sweet piece of pie indeed.

The document can be downloaded via

http://www.itmission.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=247&Itemid=63

All , right now what we can do is go through the document, form an opinion and post it on the "write comments" section of
http://www.itmission.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=361:request-for-proposals-rfp-for-selection-of-tsp-for-setting-up-of-a-geoportal-and-clearinghouse-for-the-kerala-
state-spatial-data-infrastructure-ksdi&catid=49:tender-notices&Itemid=44

[Harish CM]

From the evaluation of end user requirement can this venture be set up on a FOSS backbone?
best/harish

2009/12/1 Ashik S <aas...@gmail.com>

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[Ashik S]

On Tuesday 01 December 2009 10:53:10 Harish CM wrote:
> From the evaluation of end user requirement can this venture be set up on a
> FOSS backbone?

There DB requirements specify a lot of features. I am not able to evaluate
those things as i dont know much about databases. But the server software etc
can be setup on an entirely FOSS backbone.

--

aashik

[Anilkumar KV]

The whole Geoportal and Spatial Data Infrastructure can set-up entirely on Swathanthra Software platform. It seems there is a mis-concept among its initiators that, a Data Infrastructure require support for whole sorts of software.

Setting up a Geo-portal and SDI as described RFP is against the spirit of Kerala IT policy.

The officials at ITMission need to be educated further even on Kerala IT policy and on Swathanthra Software. Then only we can properly check such intrusions of proprietary interests.

- Regards,

Anil

[V. Sasi Kumar]

On Tue, 2009-12-01 at 10:35 +0530, Ashik S wrote:

> All , right now what we can do is go through the document, form an opinion and post it on the "write comments" section of
> http://www.itmission.kerala.gov.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=361:request-for-proposals-rfp-for-selection-of-tsp-for-setting-up-of-a-geoportal-and-clearinghouse-for-the-kerala-
> state-spatial-data-infrastructure-ksdi&catid=49:tender-notices&Itemid=44

Thank you, Ashik, for this detailed analysis. It would be good if as
many of us as possible can write comments there.

[Kenney Jacob]

The following is an old post of mine and deals with another datacenter.

Today I saw a saw a tender notice by the Kerala State IT Mission for setting up a state data center for the government of Kerala. The notice reads

Inviting competitive bids from qualified bidders against revised request for proposal (RFP) for appointment of an agency for Design, Site Preparation, Supply, Installation, Maintenance and Operations of Physical and IT Infrastructure of a State Data Centre in Kerala, Thiruvananathapuram, for the Government of Kerala.

Tender Fee : Rs 5000/-

Earnest Money Deposit : Rs 5,000,000 (50 Lakhs)

The detailed tender notice also asks for 3 years experience in managing a 2500Sqft datacenter.

I am not a Data Center expert, but I did some research about the nuances of setting up a Datacenter, called up a  few friend who are working in data centers and who has experience in setting up these. My findings follows.

Setting up a a datacenter involves purchase of high value equipments.

Majority of the “non technology” work is about setting up power delivery systems, Air conditioning, fire safety and access control devices.

Once you have all these, then you need skilled manpower to manage the rest, and that’s something you have plenty in Kerala. Most of the datacenters around the world are supported from Kerala.

Now the question is, why the deposit money of 50 Lakhs. Is it to ward off smaller companies in Kerala who might have the know how to do it.

Could we have split the tender into different tenders, for equipment purchase, setting up physical space, providing operations support etc ?

Why is it that companies with more turnover gets more points in the tender evaluation process ?

Are we overlooking the security aspects of a datacenter that might hold sensitive government data

I am pretty sure only Reliance, Tata and Bharati will be bidding for this.

And why do these folks always write a stupid clause in every tender ?

“Kerala State IT Mission reserves the right to reject any or all the bids in whole or in part at any time without mentioning any reason thereof”

Can a government body openly say that we are not accountable for our actions ?

Kenney

[Ashik S]

Kenney is correct in asking why there is a 50Lakh deposit and why it is always
a TSP ? Who now has the tender that Kenney mentions ?

[V. Sasi Kumar]

On Thu, 2009-12-03 at 01:05 +0530, Kenney Jacob wrote:
> The following is an old post of mine and deals with another
> datacenter.

I too have found similar tenders (of course, not related to IT) before
and wondered why they include some clause that keeps out smaller
companies (which should actually be promoted). In some cases, I am told,
there are reasons for this because companies without sufficient
resources won't be able to do the work and it does happen sometimes that
a small company without real know-how gets the job and makes a mess. But
I fully agree with you that the work could be split up and given to
different contractors. The only problem here is that the department
should have knowledgeable people who can plan, supervise and guide the
work. This may sometimes be lacking (as, probably, in this case). And
reserving the right to reject any bid, I think, is just wishful
thinking. I don't think it will stand in any court of law, just like
their right to modify our comments.

[Ajith Sen]

I have a doubt regarding this, not entirely connected to the discussion topic.
Isn't this supposed to be a Govt. Tender? Why is a giant mistake or typo repeated in the Tender and Tender document? Its stated that a DD has to be taken of INR 5000/- and in words its written Rupees Ten Thousand only. Same mistake is repeated in the Tender Document.
Is this normal, or does this indicate that this Tender has not undergone any serious evaluation?

Regards
Ajith Sen

[Kenney Jacob]

I dont know who has the tender, but chances are that that Kuthhaka Muthlalai company reliance has it. I wonder how we are going to trust them with a lot of sensitive govt data.

www.kenneyjacob.com
Kenney Jacob
Ayruz Web Holdings
Mobile :- +91-9846831128

Chat Google Talk: kenney.jacob Skype: kenney.jacob

On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 2:56 AM, Ashik S <aas...@gmail.com> wrote:

Kenney is correct in asking why there is a 50Lakh deposit and why it is always
a TSP ? Who now has the tender that Kenney mentions ?

[Rajeev J Sebastian]

On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 2:36 PM, Kenney Jacob <kenney...@gmail.com> wrote:

I dont know who has the tender, but chances are that that Kuthhaka Muthlalai company reliance has it. I wonder how we are going to trust them with a lot of sensitive govt data.

The same way that we trust Microsoft ... ?

Regards
Rajeev J Sebastian

[Kenney Jacob]

Ahhhhhhhhh come on... Dont show that M$ hatered here.. without any base.
How can you compare selling an OS and managing a data center.

[Rajeev J Sebastian]

On Sat, Dec 5, 2009 at 11:28 PM, Kenney Jacob <kenney...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Ahhhhhhhhh come on... Dont show that M$ hatered here.. without any base.

Kenney,

You read me completely wrong. If you've read any of my posts on this
list, you wouldn't say that at all.

You asked "how can anyone trust Reliance". I'm saying, if people can
trust Microsoft, which a lot of people do, then why not Reliance?

Regards
Rajeeev J Sebastian

[Ashik S]

Hi all

The tender expires tomorrow so inorder that the CM might take some action, I
sent the letter via registered post as well as email today morning itself. The
following were the contents. I thank everyone for pitching in with ideas, a
translation and edits to the original letter.

"We, the Free Software Community in Thiruvananthapuram, understand that the
Kerala State IT Mission is setting up a new organization called KSDI ( Kerala
State Spatial Data Infrastructure ). They have put up a Request for Proposals
(RFP), on the IT Mission's website, for selection of total solution providers
for setting up a Geoportal and Clearinghouse for the Kerala State Spatial Data
Infrastructure (KSDI). The tender document available for download in the above
link describes an infrastructure that could be completely supported by Free
and Open Source Software, but it calls for using proprietary solutions. The
state's IT Policy mandates the use of Free Software for government agencies
and the tender document is a blatant violation of this policy.

Specific points that we wish to point out:

1. A clear violation in the stated IT policy : The tender document
specifically calls for the purchase of proprietary software (pages 109-110)
like

Microsoft Windows XP Professional
ERDAS imagine
ERDAS Vector, autoSync, VirtualGis,
ERDAS Map2PDF, MosaicPro
LPS Core, LPS Stereo, LPS Automatic terrain
Editor, Terrain Extraction
ArcInfo
ArcGIS 3D Analyst, Network analyst
ArcView
Oracle 10i, SQL Server, .net

2. In several sections in the RFP, support for some proprietary
technologies like Active Directory Services are being demanded. These are
neither requisites nor irreplaceable as per the requirements in the RFP. No
free software solution will be able to provide support for these proprietary
technologies fully but there are many that might effectively replace them.

3. The RFP does not necessitate that the software developed for the
government is to be under free software license. Nor is it asking for handing
over the copyright to the government so that the government can release it and
maintain it under free software licenses. This is serious since this makes the
government dependant on the service provider forever and effectively bars any
future move by the government to change the service provider and switch over
to a better or self supporting scheme.

4. The RFP demands that proprietary geo data formats have to be supported.
This leaves a loop hole for usage of proprietary software to be used. This
also prevents usage of free software to access and manipulate data in such
format, limiting the current as well as future scope for free software usage.


We do not know how this document with such blatant violation of the state's IT
policy has come through from a government which is actively promoting Free
Software. But we are sure that if the government goes ahead with the purchase
of such expensive proprietary software it is only the third party proprietary
software providers who are going to benefit for as long as the project stays
alive. We believe that it is our responsibility to bring this to your
attention and to bring to your notice that the requirements could be satisfied
using Free Software without risking vendor lock in and without wasting public
funds.

We, the Free Software Community in Thiruvananthapuram, request the Honourable
Chief Minister to look into the situation and take necessary steps to avoid
this violation and save the state money amounting to crores of rupees. We also
request the government to invest money that is being held for these purposes
to build reusable free software components for this project so that similar
future endeavours by the government as well as the community might benefit
from it. Such move also guarantees employment generation at the local level
and the money the state spends will remain in the state itself instead of
going out to foreign software monopolies. "


--

aashik

[V. Sasi Kumar]

Good work, Ashik, and thanks.

[sunil s]

Good work

Can we extend this movement towards other Governmental Institutions/Departments?

Though most government offices are using computers as typing machines (which can even done in wordpad ), they are demanding Vista licenses, Microsoft Office 2007

[Jaisen Nedumpala]

Hi,
Please check:

http://lists.osgeo.org/pipermail/discuss/2009-December/006454.html

Regards,

2009/12/8 sunil s <sunil...@gmail.com>:

> Good work
> Can we extend this movement towards other Governmental
> Institutions/Departments?
> Though most government offices are using computers as typing machines (which
> can even done in wordpad ), they are demanding Vista licenses, Microsoft
> Office 2007
>
> On Tue, Dec 8, 2009 at 10:33 PM, V. Sasi Kumar <sasi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> Good work, Ashik, and thanks.
>>
>> Best
>> --
>> V. Sasi Kumar
>> http://swatantryam.blogspot.com
>>
>> --

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[sajith kumar]

Congratulations ashik.

[sajith kumar]

--

[girish dw]

well done ashik

[JeevZ]

Kudos Ashik..Hope they will take a positive decision..

On Thu, Dec 10, 2009 at 8:56 AM, girish dw <giri...@gmail.com> wrote:

well done ashik

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[Ashik S]

Umm dont thank me everyone - I appreciate the intention, but it is the
community that responded :) I hope the community will do it again when
situation demands. If not me then someone else.

--

aashik

[Mahesh Mohan]

There is a news snippet about this in Today's Mathrubhumi, page 13, bottom left.

Read the news at bottom portion of this page http://epaper.mathrubhumi.com/index.php?id=9154&cat=14&date=2009-12-10

-മഹേഷ് മോഹന്‍ എം.യു

[Aneesh A]

Thanks Ashik, and all community members.

By the way, who has given the news?

Anyone from the group?

Anyhow, Nice.

> --
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