Large-Scale OpenOffice.org Migrations in Thailand

Samphan RaruenromThai Native Language Project Lead

samphan@osdev.co.th

Open Source Development Co., Ltd.www.osdev.co.th

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

04/09/10 2

Contents

● Timeline of local OOo development and adoption● Thai-enabling the non-i18n OpenOffice.org 1.0● Large-scale OpenOffice.org migrations

● Observations on OOo adoption in Thailand● Migration process● The communities

3

1

Backgrounds

4

About me

● 2005-Now: Osdev● MD of the OOo migration consulting company

● 1999-2004: NECTEC, a gov. agency on IT● Project manager of the "OSS Initiative"

• to increase OSS adoption in Thailand● Made a Thai-enabled OpenOffice.org 1.x

● 1997-1998: Mozilla Thai-enabling project● 1992-1994: ISOFAC, a local ISV

● Made a Thai GUI word processor for Windows 3.1

5

About ThailandWhere?

6

About ThailandFamous Stuffs

● “Siam”, before 1950● Siamese twin

● Thai food● Tom Yum Goong

● Started the 1997 financial crisis in Asia● Tom Yum Goong

Crisis

● Travel & Leisure Magazine 2010 World’s Best City● #1 Bangkok● #2 Chieng Mai

● Pattaya, Phuket● "The Beach"

● Thai boxing

7

About ThailandFacts

● An emerging economy, a newly industrialized country

● Export rice, textiles, electronic parts, cars

● 2nd largest economy in Southeast Asia

● Parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy

● Population: 66 mil.● Number of PC: 3 mil.● PC Penetration: 4%● Official language: Thai

● Write using Thai script● A complex text layout

(CTL)

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2

Thai-enabling the non-i18n

OpenOffice.org 1.0

9

World Scripts

● There are 3 groups of all scripts in the world● Western – small number of glyphs● CJK – large number of glyphs● CTL – small number of glyphs, but

• Need context-sensitive glyph shaping• Some need context-sensitive line-breaking• Some are LTR, some are bi-directional

● Fortunately, Thai script is the simplest CTL● LTR, simple glyph shaping, no glyph reordering● Exception: context-sensitive line-breaking

10

CTL Complexity

● CTL breaks many non-18n code assumptions● A (user) character may has more than 1 code point

• ป+ �ี+ี� ป��→● A character may change its shape, position, width or

reordered depend on the surrounding characters• บ� บ�� ป� ป�� – ญ+ี ญ→

● Some CTL has no space between words• Thai:ฉ นร กซอฟต�แวร�เสร�• → ฉ นร กซอฟต�แวร�เสร�• Imagine:i love free software → ilovefreesoftware• → ilovefreesoftware

11

Thai-enabling Requirements

● Shaping● glyph shaping● character width/height depend on context

● Line breaking● Thai require context-sensitive line breaking

● Clustering● cluster is a unique concept in CTL – user character

• contain 1 or more code points● insertion point must be at cluster boundary● most operation must be on clusters

12

Thai-enabling OOo 1.x –CTL Issues

● Shaping – display and print● Cluster-based caret movement & mouse hit test● Delete ≠ backspace – delete whole cluster,

backspace one code-point● Thai dictionary-based line breaking● Word-wise caret movement & mouse selection● Automatic sequence correction (Thai-specific)

● ป+ี�+ี� >> ป+ี�+ี� ป��→● Text searching must also check cluster boundary

● Search for ป� don't match ป��

13

Thai-enabling OOo 1.x –Other Issues● Appropriate default font/size● Support Thai native number system

● ๐๑๒๓๔๕๖๗๘๙● Not used in real life, only in public document!

● Support Thai date system and Buddhist calendar● 1 มกราคม 2553 = 1 January 2010

● Support Thai collation order● Need reordering, as defined in UCA

● Spelling check is complex● Interoperability with Thai features in MS Office

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TL of Local Development –Two Thai OpenOffice.org

Oct 2000● StarOffice open-sourced as OpenOffice.org

May 2001● NECTEC added Thai line-breaking to OOo build 633

Dec 2001● Sun (Thailand) hired Algorithms to make Pladao

Mar 2002● Pladao 1.0 from OOo build 683C

Jun 2002● OfficeTLE beta from OOo 1.0 by NECTEC

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TL of Local Development –Single OpenOffice.org

2002-2005 – Several releases of Pladao and OfficeTLEOct 2005● SIPA hired Sun (Germany) to enhance Thai support

● SIPA, NECTEC, Sun (Thailand) agreed on single OOoAug 2005● SIPA released Chantra 1.0, OSS for Windows CD

● OSS promotion then shift to OSS on WindowsJan 2006● OpenOffice.org 2.0.1 works out-of-the-box for Thai

Sep 2010● NECTEC to hire Osdev to fix Thai-dependent bugs

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3

OpenOffice.org Adoptionin Thailand

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OpenOffice.org Adoption –Factors in Thailand

● Being an emerging economy● Business is growing. User-base is growing.● Software spending is not growing equally.

● Thai culture● Intellectual asset is an unfamiliar concept

● Software industry● High software piracy rate, according to BSA● BSA is a positive factor for OSS adoption

• Both buying licenses and adopting OSS reduce piracy• BSA actions effectively make business decide between

buying license or adopting OSS

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TL of OOo Adoption –The First Wave

1994 – Thai copyright law explicitly cover software2001● BSA put pressures to enforce the law

● Big national news, a lot of legal actions2002● Thai-enabled OSS became popular

● Pladao/OfficeTLE – two Thai OOo derivatives● LinuxTLE – a Thai RedHat derivatives

2003● the famous “People's PC” project

19

3.1

The “People's PC” Project

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The “People's PC” Project

● The 1st gov-sponsored low-cost PC of its kind● 250$ for Linux PC

● LinuxTLE with Thai Mozilla and OfficeTLE● 40$ option for Windows + Office Home Edition

● The price dropped from nearly $600● A 85% price cut

● Shipped 120,000 PCs and 20,000 Notebooks● Inspired many low-cost PC projects worldwide● Microsoft later make the low-cost edition permanent

● called "Starter Edition"

21

The Key Enabler isThai-enabled OSS

● Thailand already manufacture and export PCs● The missing part for the PC to be usable is software

● LinuxTLE make the PCs usable w/o license cost● LinuxTLE increase bargaining power of the project

● So we got the Windows+Office option at 40$● Very few people buy the option anyway

22

Effects of the First Wave OOo Popularity

● Pladao and the People's PC introduced the term “Open Source” to Thai users● However, most think it is the same as freeware● Many people had the chance to try OpenOffice.org

(Pladao/OfficeTLE) and Linux Desktop (LinuxTLE)● BSA and Pladao make a phenomenon

● Many SMEs tried to migrate to Pladao● Only a small number succeed, however

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Why Pladao/OfficeTLE Migrations Failed?

● The software is not ready yet, esp. for Thai● For Westerner, migration to OOo 1.0 is more feasible

● The MS Office filters are not good enough● Conversion error much worse for Thai documents

● No migration process, no change management● Uninstall & replace all MS Office at once

● Some succeed because of good preparation● Thai Life Insurance - #1 life insurance company● Digiland (Thailand) - technology products distributor● DHA Siamwalla - stationary products manufacturer

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TL of OOo Adoption –The Second Wave #1

2004● After OSS success, BSA actions became low-profile

2005● BSA double-up anti-piracy reward to ฿500,000● EGAT migrated to OOo, began a domino effect

2006● S&P Syndicate PCL. migrated to OOo

● 700 seats, 5,000 employees2007● 3,000 people attended Thailand OSSFest 2007● A 1x,xxx-seats bank started pilot project on OOo

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TL of OOo Adoption –The Second Wave #2

2008● National Housing Agency migrated to OOo● Global financial crisis accelerated OOo adoption

● Financial industry begin to look at OOo seriously● The bank migrated all branches to OOo

2009● The bank migrated its headquarter to OOo● A few 2,xxx-seats midsize business migrated to OOo

● An agroindustrial group, a financial company group2010● Several midsize business are migrating to OOo

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3.2

EGATThe First OpenOffice.org

Success Story

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EGAT

● Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand● A government enterprise

• 12,000 seats, 24,000 employees• Several offices and plants nationwide

● In 2005, EGAT was about to enter an IPO● IT governance is critical for a public company● EGAT will have to invest ฿200m to buy all the

required licenses before going to the IPO● They seek for alternatives and decided to replace

many proprietary software with OSS● The goal is to reach and maintain the ratio

OOo:MSO at 70:30

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EGATLicense Cost Saving

ป� (พ.ศ.)

After migrate to After migrate to OpenOffice.orgOpenOffice.org

If use onlyIf use onlyMS OfficeMS Office

If use o

nly MS Office

After migrate to OpenOffice.org

Migration start

MS Office license cost before & after migrate to OpenOffice.org

License cost savingper year

Duration of the saving

Mil Baht

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

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EGAT Case Study

● EGAT already succeed on the server side● This is EGAT 2nd try on OpenOffice.org

● The first tried was with Pladao and OfficeTLE● The lesson learn make success of the 2nd try

● Success factors● Top-down – management buy-in, policy from CEO ● A lot of training ● A lot of internal seminars, roadshows● A lot of promotional and learning materials● Good support

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3.3

ThailandOpenOffice.org Adoption

Summary

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Thailand OOo Adoption

GovernmentGovernment SMESME Large EnterpriseLarge EnterpriseAdoptionAdoption Very slow Slow Fast

Negative Negative factorfactor

PiracyCentralized ITPolicy enforcementBig size

PiracyCentralized ITPolicy enforcement

Risk-sensitiveComplex decision

structureBig size

Positive factorPositive factorPublic OSS policyNational OSS

Center

BSA actionsSimple decision

structureSmall size

IT budget cutCentralized ITEffective policy

enforcementMotiveMotive KPI Legalize licenses Cut cost

Success factorSuccess factor Internal marketing Training & support Change management

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Observations on Thai Culture vs. OOo Adoption

● Thai people can hardly imagine the monetary value of intellectual property

● Thai has a saying “do everything at will is real Thai”● You can't just force them, or you'll get big resistance

● To migrate to OOo, make them understand● A MS Office license (for you) cost your company a lot

• enough to buy a new PC or a laser printer● You are helping your company by using OOo

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4

Migration Process

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Success Factors

● Always top down, management buy-in required● Migration initiative usually start from an IT

department● Policy forcing the use of OOo and ODF and how

documents will be made and exchange● Assessment to find who can't work w/o MS Office● Training as much as possible

● Training focus at the migration goal not at features● ODF as internal standard for office documents● High first-contact-resolution support● Well-designed and constant communications

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A ConservativeMigration Process

1. Policy setup● Management buy-in● CEO sign the policy

2. Assessment● Data gathering

● Applications that required MS Office to work

● User survey result● Office document analysis

● Result: the red list● those who can't work if

uninstall his/her MS Office

3. Implementation● Collect/convert templates● Customize OOo installer

for specific needs● Deploy the installer to

every PCs● Provide training & support● Uninstall MS Office from

those not in the red list• may divide into several

phases

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Further OOo Integration

● To increase OOo:MSO ratio● Users in the red list still have MS Office because of

● MS Office document with macro● MS Access document that couldn't use Access Runtime● Enterprise applications that require MS Office for some

functions● Workflows that spread the need for MS Office

● Estimate the effort to fix these integration problems and how many MS Office licenses could be saved if decide to fix each of them

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5

Current State ofthe Communities and

the Industry

Local Communities

● A community website with blogs, faqs, forums● Open Office Club - http://openoffice.in.th● Plan for a few events this year to celebrate the 10th

OOo birthday● Local development is back this year

● Fixing Thai-locale-dependent bugs• Fund by the biggest user - EGAT

● Update and complete the translation● Develop extensions and templates for local need

• Thousand Separator (35,121 d/l), Fix Thai Date, Remove All Print Ranges

Local Service Providers

● Service providers start to appear● Several OSS vendors are providing OOo training

● e.g. OpenSource2Day● Famous IT training centers started to do so

● e.g. NECTEC Academy● Consultant for midsize to large-scale migration

● Osdev● Network of OSS vendors

● BOSS – Business for Open Source Society

Challenges in ProvidingOpenOffice.org Services

● Business who want to migrate to OpenOffice.org ● Don't know about the available service providers● Overestimate the obstacles and cancel the intention

• The consultant job is to remove the obstacles!● Underestimate the obstacles and do it by themselves

• Or just give training to employees● Professional service even more abstract than licensing

● Some IT pros and managers said “OpenOffice.org is free, why I still have to pay for the services”

● Lack of official migration partners and certificates● Clients usually are much bigger than providers. They

need much confidence on the consultant to go with.

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Future Directions –We'd Like to See

● Government initiative to push the use of OpenOffice.org in public sector● The model used in Malaysia and Singapore

● More SMEs adopt OpenOffice.org● More business enterprises open their success stories

● The way Thai Life Insurance and S&P Syndicate did● Why open?

• Grow the OpenOffice.org communities• So more resources and community support will be available• Continue the domino effect to build more OOo friends• More enterprises will accept your ODF documents

● Why not?

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Conclusion

● OOo adoption in Thailand is different● Midsize and large enterprises move first● SMEs move less aggressively● Government offices still wait (for policy) and see

● More will migrate to OOo for purely business reason● Enterprises move to OOo to save cost● SMEs move to OOo to legalize their software use

● Lower piracy increase OOo adoption & vice versa● Thailand still use very little IT so OOo have lots of

chance to grow in the market

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OpenOffice.orgSmall Change. Big Different.