ETHICAL
MATTERS
Ethical
Considerations in IT Purchases
I am director of
corporate services for an industry association, which
promotes corporate responsibility and product stewardship
among its members. Our Windows operating system and
software are becoming too outdated to continue to serve
our needs, and our computers are not powerful enough for
productivity if we upgrade that software. How can I
demonstrate our ethical values in the course of enhancing
our information technology?
Jane’s Response
You face a very common
problem. I congratulate you for stepping back to consider
the ethical dimensions rather than automatically buying
the latest items from your current vendor.
Keep in mind
that the software almost certainly does what it always
did; it is the needs (including compatibility with
partners) or expectations (such as speed) that have
changed. The problem with thinking that the software has
become less useful is that it fuels upgrade mania by
treating a "new, improved" vendor release as a silver
bullet.
I am going to suggest
you consider:
And I admit I will be
answering with a strong bias! This IS an opinion column.
Mission
You are entitled to a
productive infrastructure that enables you to achieve your
mission. That very much includes IT since it is critical
to most communication with members and stakeholders.
However, overspending on IT reduces monies available for
direct services and programs.
Right now in
information technology, more than ever before, you do not
get what you pay for. Some of the free and very low cost
solutions have been rated higher in quality than solutions
costing over a million! MySQL is one example, in the
database world. It is folly to assume that buying from a
major vendor will give better results. Of course, you
still include major vendors in your review. But keep in
mind that many major companies and governments are making
the switch to Linux operating systems, and many others are
considering it.
Open Source software is free. Just as
with commercial software, there may be extra costs for
support, better documentation, and customization. Unlike
most commercial software, those options may also be free.
And it may be compatible with all your needs. Open Office,
for example, is a suite that allows you to readily open,
save and exchange documents with people using Windows,
Macs, Linux and traditional Unix.
Speaking of Macs, do
include them too in your review. The initial cost appears
higher, but they include standard features that may cost
extra on other models. And the current Mac systems are
based on Unix, allowing access to much of the world’s
software. The ease of use really does save time. And they
use standard memory, costing much less to upgrade than at
least one of the major name brand PCs.
By the way, some Open
Source software runs on Windows, though not necessarily as
efficiently. And Windows, Linux and Mac systems can be
efficiently networked. You do not have to make an all or
nothing switch if different staff members have different
needs.
Environment
A great deal of
computer hardware ends up in landfill, our least desirable
form of waste management. If you decide to get rid of
current hardware, at least look for local recyclers who
make use of valuable materials.
Continued use is
preferable to recycling. There may be cash-strapped
charities or schools in your neighbourhood who can still
make good use of your discards. Another option is to send
older machines home with staff who would like to tele-commute
some of the time, thus saving on transportation needs and
perhaps accommodating people with disabilities or family
care responsibilities.
Many quite old
computers are working just fine as file and peripheral
(e.g., printer) servers, either on a network or on their
own. One colleague is using one solely for scanning in his
efforts to develop a paperless office.
Even better is
continued use of all your computers if possible, as long
as they are functioning and have reasonable speed and
memory. Most Free and Open Source software (the two
overlap but are not identical) does not make the same high
demands for computer power as the major proprietary
software.
If the computer is not
adequate, you may be able to upgrade for more memory.
Given the reduced price of new computers lately, do
compare costs of upgrade versus replacement.
Community
Your nonprofit
organization serves a community of shared interest in your
industry. Free and Open Source software is developed by an
international community of developers who are not focused
on profit. They embrace and support other programmers they
see as “doing the right thing”.
And if you need help
with installation and customization, you will likely be
using local developers who have made volunteer
contributions to the development of source code. Even
better, as small business people, they will now spend most
of their consulting earnings within the local community.
FYI, there is no shortage of technical
support for Open Source systems.
And it is usually better than the
commercial variety. With Open Source, your support will
come from a developer of the software or from another user
who has successfully gone where you are going. Commercial
support is most often provided by a "call center" that has
nothing to do with the creation or operation of the
software. The motivation behind Open Source support is
fixing the problem. The motivation behind commercial
support is getting you off their phone.
Most major proprietary
office software solutions have head offices outside
Canada, in places like Washington (Microsoft) and
California (Corel – owned by Vector; Oracle). Canada gets
to retain only a small share of the profits and a small
share of their corporate philanthropy.
Risk Management
As the executive
responsible for computers, you know how much effort can be
put into avoiding viruses and worms, and recovering from
those that get through. You are likely running virus
checkers with frequent updates as well as trying to
educate your users. And you keep downloading and
installing yet another patch.
But I have been running my Macintosh
computers without virus checkers for over ten years
without a problem. The
probability of getting a Mac virus is vanishingly small if
you avoid indiscriminate file downloads and Microsoft
documents that contain macros.
Open Source users do
not usually use one either. Why? Two reasons. One, most
worms and viruses are written explicitly for Windows
systems. Second, Windows has design flaws that make it
easy for hackers. You reduce the risk if you avoid this
operating system, especially its main e-mail program or
providing web access to your data via Microsoft's IIS web
server. Depending on your database choices, you may even
be improving member privacy by avoiding the hacker’s
favourite system.
Closing
Ethical decision-making
requires that you consider the full range of reasonable
options before making your choices. Only your organization
can determine which choices best meet your organizational
values and critical needs. Best wishes for a set of
decisions that stand the test of time and withstand
scrutiny.
By Jane Garthson
with assistance from Phillip Mills
 Jane
is Principal Consultant of Mills Garthson &
Associates, dedicated to strengthening Canada's
nonprofit sector through enhanced leadership and ethics.
She is a founding member and former Chair of the Ethics
Practitioners’ Association of Canada, and was
Executive Director of a provincial federation. She has
provided ethics training to organizations such as the
United Way of Greater Toronto, International Institute
of Public Ethics and CSAE. Jane can be reached at www.millsgarthson.ca or 1-877-645-5417.
|
