The IRS is not ready to move to Linux due to its own mistakes

The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have had problems migrating to Linux, caused mostly by what one audit calls "poor technology management."

According to the plan announced in 2014, the IRS planned to move a total of 141 applications to the Linux operating system, hoping to save millions of dollars by adopting free software alternatives.

In fact, before starting the transition, iRS mentioned that it would save you up to $ 12 million over the next five years with just one system, thanks to reduced license fees.

And while a normal migration to Linux is very easy, the process for migrating IRS applications is not, As of February 2018, only 8 applications had been migrated.

Migration will end until 2020

The audit, carried out by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration reveals that many mistakes were made when trying to migrate to Linux, including not thinking that staff would need training to use Linux.

While moving from Solaris to open source Linux would be a cost-cutting transition, it eventually ended up costing more than anticipated as the organization had to spend more than $ 800,000 on support services because the staff lacked the technical knowledge to carry out the migration.

This is not to say that the migration will be abandoned, however, based on a series of recommendations, including adjusting a strategy for disaster recovery and continuity in work, the IRS has moved the project and now has a 2020 closing date.