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It is now more than 10 years since the Open Source Initiative was launched, shortly after Netscape released their browser code, and it looks as if the public sector has finally decided to take a serious look at this "free" software.
Justin Mason of the Daily Gazette writes, "Increasingly, colleges and government agencies are relying on pliable and free open-source programs to fulfil needs that arise within their computer networks. Proponents argue that the software is a budget-friendly option to tailor computer systems in ways that more rigid proprietary software won't allow." However, the conventional tendering process for public body contracts has not historically allowed for open-access software where there is usually no classic vendor to submit a tender.
But the attractions of robust, low/nil cost applications have become increasingly apparent to public bodies as funds have dried up and Mason quotes New York State as already using Linux in their data centres. However the State feels uncomfortable about using mission-critical applications where there is no vendor support service available for the immediate solution of problems as they arise.
The New York State Senate is going further and has hired a specialist consultant to review all their licensed software to see if open-source equivalents cannot do the job better as well as cheaper. Their assumption is that proprietary software will have to prove its advantages over open-source if it is to continue to be licensed.
Another aspect of open-source that is attracting public sector interest is its flexibility and the wide range of functionality improvements generated by the developer community.
More at: http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/apr/26/0426opensource |
