Sun Microsystems has announced that it has received notice from NHS IT director-general Richard Granger that its Java Desktop System will be evaluated for use in the NHS as a possible alternative to Microsoft’s Windows products. According to Sun Microsystems the evaluation could help bring an open, affordable and secure desktop solution to the NHS, enabling the money saved on software costs to be redirected into more critical areas, such as front-line patient care. The NHS IT director-general added: "If this solution were to prove effective we could save the NHS and the taxpayer many millions of pounds whilst at the same time using rich and innovative software technology." Leslie Stretch, managing director of Sun Microsystems UK and Ireland, added. "The Java Desktop System could dramatically reduce the IT acquisition costs for the NHS and provide it with a predictable cost structure under which it can manage its business." The NHS currently has a three-year corporate licensing deal for Microsoft software, principally covering Windows and Office products, signed back in October 2001. The NHS deal is one of Microsoft’s largest corporate licensing deals globally. Whether the NHS’s evaluation leads to a shift to Sun’s Java Desktop System remains to be seen, but it looks certain to provide a big stick in future licensing cost negotiations with Microsoft.
Granger commented "Our evaluation of the Java Desktop System holds the promise of allowing a greater share of NHS funding to flow directly towards improved levels of Patient Service. Sun’s innovation and flexible approach to addressing the business challenges of the NHS are an example which we would encourage all IT Vendors to note."
