Mass move of Welsh schools to Open Source e-mail

• Monday, 04 September 2006

A progressive Welsh Council will use Open Source software to centralise the e-mail usage of its primary and secondary schools. Sirius Corporation, the UK's leading independent Open Source specialist, has been appointed to build a system with the potential to host a mailbox for every student and teacher in Carmarthenshire (some 40,000 users).

The Council's ICT Development Centre currently provides Internet and e-mail facilities to 15 secondary schools and 125 primary schools. The new, state-of-the-art Open Source system will use a simple web-based interface to help reduce the pressure on staff when creating and managing new accounts. Council administrators will also be able to monitor usage levels and block emails 'on-the-fly' if they contain inappropriate content.

Giles Nunn, ISP Officer at Carmarthenshire County Council said: “We looked at a number of proprietary solutions to develop our current e-mail system but they simply weren't scalable or were just too expensive. The Open Source e-mail solution provided by Sirius Corporation was not only the most technically advanced but offered the lowest total-cost-of-ownership.”

Mark Taylor, CEO at Sirius Corporation said: “The adoption of Open Source software by local government has been a slow process. There have been several false starts in England with council staff reluctant to damage commercial ties with proprietary vendors. Welsh councils like Carmarthenshire, Bridgend and Powys are leading the field in deploying robust, scalable and affordable technology solutions using Open Source software.”

The win comes after Sirius deployed an Open Source infrastructure for one of the UK's leading public schools.

Notes to the Editor:

About Carmarthenshire County Council

Carmarthenshire County Council is one of the largest and most diverse employers in South West Wales, employing over 9000 employees who provide services across a rural county to a population of 170,000.

For more information about Carmarthenshire County Council visit: www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk

About Sirius Corporation

Sirius Corporation is a leading European IT services group specialising in enterprise-ready Open Source software including databases, email systems, file & print, directory services, and cross-platform authentication. Client's include blue-chip multi-nationals and public sector organisations.

For more information visit: www.siriusit.co.uk

For interviews contact Tom Callway +44 (0)870 608 0063 ext. 6103

This press release was distributed via SourceWire, a service from Daryl Willcox Publishing, on behalf of Sirius. For more information visit http://www.dwpub.com/pressreleasewires