LA City Council Reads ACT’s “Paying for Free” Paper

OK, maybe nobody on the city council actually read Paying for Free, the paper where we describe the security, privacy and sustainability costs of “free” software. Still, on Monday the Los Angeles city council delayed its vote on a contract to replace the city’s email system. with Google Apps. The reason: concerns over costs.

Cloud-based software is often touted as an easy way to save money instead of using software installed locally on desktops and servers. Often, cloud-based software and services are even “free” to use (in the sense that they have $0 license fees) but will be supported by advertisements. Users often provide personal information or consent to targeted ads based on their interests to help online companies pay for these free services.

In Los Angeles, the city is rightly considering the costs as well as the benefits of the software that it chooses.  There are also cloud computing security concerns over storing sensitive city/law enforcement information on remote servers. These too are a potential cost that should be weighed into the mix of total costs of ownership. Free of licensing fees does not mean free to use.