London Stock Exchange Moving to OpenSource

[RoyGBiv]

Open Source Makes Big Gains at the London Stock Exchange

October 06, 2009

Posted by: Glyn Moody

At first sight, news that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is moving from the Microsoft .Net-based TradElect to the GNU/Linux-based MillenniumIT system, is just another win for free software....

...LSE is not just moving from one application to another, but from running someone else's software to running its own, by buying a company that makes it. One reason: it's massively cheaper:

"Compared to the bill of $65 million for TradElect, MillenniumIT, a Sri Lankan developer, is a bargain at $30 million. LSE gains a 100 per cent shareholding in the company, an offshore development centre (located near Colombo) with 451 specialists (around 300 in the software division) and the technology, which boasts high productivity, flexibility, robustness and considerably lower costs than TradElect.

"LSE predicts annual cost savings of at least £10 million ($14.7 million) from 2011/12. ‘The new technology is a lot lighter, nimbler and easier to install,’ says David Lester, director of information and technology at LSE. It will also enable faster releases, he adds. The current wait is three to six months."


http://www.computerworlduk.com/community/blogs/index.cfm?entryid=2568

[charlie]

1. Yowza

Full of win :thumbsup:

Mission critical enterprise? Check. Millions in revenue for the developers? Check. Faster, cheaper, more flexible, and robust? Double check.

All the old canards about what OSS can't do just took a big hit with this one.