“just like ethical banking, there is now a move towards ethical computing”
Ethical IT – coming to a Norwich charity near you!
Like most IT companies, we support organisations that choose to run desktops, laptops and servers that run Microsoft Windows operating systems, with the occasional Apple device running macOS thrown in.
Over the last few years we have been exploring how can can deploy open source operating systems inside our customers IT landscapes, but without much success. The idea never gained much traction, no doubt because our customers are busy people; from their point of view just want systems that work and the social impact of adopting these systems is not considered.
Well, just like ethical banking, there is now a move towards ethical computing.
Open source operating systems and software are transparent, which means the software code is available for anyone to use, adapt and inspect, resulting in software that typically doesn’t spy on you, advertise to you, send your personal data to larger corporations, or simply have obsolescence built in. Open source software is also free and is generally speaking more efficiently written, requiring less energy and so can be run on pre-owned or not-so-expensive computers to run.
Well I am delighted to announce that we took a call from a local charity, Disability and Development Partners, who are embarking on a project to replace their current IT platform with Open Source solutions, and spread the word in communities across the world. Although the team at DDP will be driving these changes themselves, we’ve made ourselves available to provide some moral support on their journey. We hope to offer some advice, learn from their experience, see how these open source solutions can replace closed-source software and make a stronger case for ethical IT in the future.
If you are running a charity in Norwich or Norfolk and wish to explore Open Source alternatives, please do get in touch.