The document summarizes the considerations and process for migrating the Municipality of Bologna, Italy to OpenOffice.org. It involved migrating 3600 PCs across 65 locations from Microsoft Office 97 to OpenOffice.org over several years. Key steps included seeding technical leaders, piloting with 500 PCs, and then full deployment while providing user support. The goals were to move to an open source solution as MS Office 97 reached end of life, reduce costs, and shift resources to local IT support. Communication was emphasized as critical throughout the process.

1. OOo Migration
Some methodological considerations on
migrating a medium size Municipality
to OpenOffice.org
Massimo Carnevali
Municipality of Bologna
ICT Manager Wednesday 4 November

2. Agenda
● Who ?
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 2

3. Agenda
● Who ?
● What ?
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 3

4. Agenda
● Who ?
● What ?
● Where ?
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 4

5. Agenda
● Who ?
● What ?
● Where ?
● Why ?
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 5

6. Agenda
● Who ? ● Why not ?
● What ?
● Where ?
● Why ?
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 6

7. Agenda
● Who ? ● Why not ?
● What ? ● How ?
● Where ?
● Why ?
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 7

8. Agenda
● Who ? ● Why not ?
● What ? ● How ?
● Where ? ● Then ?
● Why ?
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 8

9. Who ?
● Municipality of Bologna (ICT
Department)
● University of Bologna (Computer
Science Department)
● Yacme
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 9

10. Who ?
● Municipality of Bologna
● 3600 PCs
● 65 locations
● About 600 applications based on:
● Web
● IBM Lotus Domino
● IBM Mainframe
● SAP
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 10

11. What ?
● Move 3600 PCs from MS Office 97
to OpenOffice.org 2.4.2
● 1800 Full migrations
● 900 Partial migrations (Office 97 remains but
it's “hidden”)
● 900 Coexistence
● Completion status at 10/2009:
80%
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 11

12. Where ?
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 12

13. Why ?
MS Office 97 End Of Life
Next ?
Proprietary Solution vs Open Solution
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 13

14. Why ?
● Open Solution = OpenOffice.org
● Cost saving
● Resources shift to local IT operators
● Which both lead to politicians
● Being part of a community
● Data durability
● Unlocking from vendor
● We believe in it !
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 14

15. Why not ?
● Complexity
● Blocking applications
● Smart users → complex macros
● Niche environments
● Bad formatting (tables, filters ...)
● Fear of change
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 15

16. How ?
104 Fundamental concepts:
1. Widely share your project model
2. Sink the ships
3. Push hard the first 100 days
4. The “end point” is the “human being” not the
computer (“I want to do the same stuff, more or
less, the same way”)
5. ...
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 16

17. How ?
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Communicate, Communicate, Communicate, Communicate,
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 17

18. How ?
Communicate
● Before doing things
● UP, to the management
● DOWN, to the user
● Explain how to find help (more important than
actually giving help) :-)
● Give a strong message of improvement not
of cost saving
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 18

19. How ? - Step 1
Seeding (March – September 2008)
● 3 days of brainwashing for 70 “Technical leaders”
● Manuals, documentation and software for everyone
● Go to the field and play
● Teach to Teachers
● For the internal education department
● Focused communication
● Managers
● Politicians
● Users
● Mass advertising
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 19

20. How ? - Step 1 and a half
Technicalities (March – Sept. 2008)
● Re-packaging
● Compatibility – Usability - Marketing
● Distribution
● Install in new PCs (corporate master)
● OCS Inventory NG – CMDBuild
● Get ready for formatting problems (on demand)
● Viewers
● Conversion process
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 20

21. How ? - Step 2
Pilot (October – November 2008)
● Don't pilot in the ICT Department !
● Culture Department
● Open minded users
● Aware of their IT knowledge limitations
● Smart IT contact inside the department
● 500 PCs → 75% full migration
● Positive feedback from users
● Lessons learned
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 21

22. How ? - Step 3
GO ! (2009)
● Replace internal education
● Sink MS Office where possible, hide it where you
can't, coexist only if there are blocking constraints
● Give support:
● Informal (IT referents, phone calls, Federica)
● Formal (OTRS already in place to handle tickets, a new
OpenOffice.org queue added)
● Nearly done (80%)
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 22

23. Then ?
● Application evolution/replacement →
remove MS Office dependencies →
complete total migration
● Move from OpenOffice.org 2.4.2 to 3.x →
BIG problem → uninstall & reinstall →
BAD
● Find a new job
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 23

24. Thanks !
progettoopenoffice@comune.bologna.it
Massimo Carnevali OOo Migration Slide 24