• @MetalMachine@feddit.nl
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    342 months ago

    Give a huge discount up front then hike it back up later, potentially even higher than the original once their dependent.

  • @shalafi@lemmy.world
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    142 months ago

    The government will still have to pay to use Excel. Too much shit will break, you can’t just flip an .xlxs into another program.

    • @taladar@sh.itjust.works
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      92 months ago

      Which sounds like an excellent reason to go through the pain once and replace Excel with something better standardized.

      • @valkyre09@lemmy.world
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        72 months ago

        I work for an MSP. I can assure you, those who believe they need excel to do their job are willing to die on that hill, and take the whole department with them

        • @taladar@sh.itjust.works
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          32 months ago

          Might be less pain in the long term to just let them die on that hill then and replace them when they are gone along with Excel.

    • @oakward@feddit.org
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      32 months ago

      I do not really work with excel beyond the basics. Why can’t free solutions like libre office and open office replace excel?

      • @pineapplepizza@lemm.ee
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        32 months ago

        Because MS made non standard functions to force lockin. You can’t even go from desktop app to web versions of excel without breaking things

  • Jesus
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    62 months ago

    On one hand, the government should be looking at OSS. On the other hand, screw Microsoft’s shitty office software. If missing out on massive government contracts forces them to improve it, I’m all for it.

    • SeaJ
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      72 months ago

      OSS usually has pretty bad support. Office sucks but it is much better than Workspace and many other alternatives.

      • @spooky2092@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        22 months ago

        Microsoft’s support also suuuuuuuuucks. We paid $500 once for assistance on an issue with a specific piece of hardware and the OS, and it took them MONTHS to even respond to us. I’d been demanding a refund for at least a full quarter before they even gave me the first response…

      • Noxy
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        22 months ago

        the us government, if it’s ever run by non-fascists, could easily afford to hire developers to not only properly support it but actively maintain and improve it.

        especially with how many software engineers are being constantly laid off from big tech monsters.

  • @someguy3@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    The agreement establishes pricing based on the volume of the entire government rather than the lower discounts previously available through separate agreements on an agency-by-agency or transactional basis. … Historically, agencies may have been able to secure discounts through individual negotiations. Rather than relying on fragmented, agency-by-agency negotiations, the agreement ensures uniform pricing and standardized terms across the federal enterprise.

    These offerings include integrated, advanced AI-powered capabilities such as Gemini, NotebookLM, and Advanced Gemini 2.0