Speaking of Sun's work with Malaysian ministries, Hartley said: "It's amazing to see what the Malaysian government is doing to drive the adoption of open-source technology in the country, with examples such as MyWorkspace, MySurfGuard, as well as using Sun Open Solaris and the open-source database. It is a good economic policy as it also provides training to the country's IT talent."

"The Malaysian government should continue to enhance awareness by running programmes at the school level," added Hartley. "The bottom line is that whether open-source technology or its alternatives are chosen, it doesn't matter. It is what offers the most cost-effective solution. In addition, the mere threat of open source has the useful function of driving down market prices."