Andrea Di MaioOver the last few days I had a few conversations with government and quasi government organizations in Europe that operate under some form of directive that promotes or strongly encourage the use of open source. Most of our clients are professionals in the IT departments, and in many cases they seem to barely stand the political decision of adopting open source. The question always revolve around what others have done, success stories, where open source is going, and so forth.
I told them that, although open source software (like any other technology) is not going to be the cure of all diseases, I can understand why politicians in the past made bold statements about switching to open source. In many cases, if they hadn’t, nobody in government would have looked at available alternatives to proprietary products. On the other hand, there is no reason to be “obsessed” with open source. The question always is: what is the most effective (combination of) sourcing approach(es) to get the job done? Where can open source software deliver value and when do proprietary software or custom development or (just to mention something fashionable) cloud-based applications make more sense?
I’d wish politicians to ask the same questions but – let’s face it – what political capital would they get by inviting departments to be cautious? The new generation of tech-savvy politicians around the world and their appointed officials now sing the benefits of cloud computing: like open source, it won’t solve all problem. But isn’t it cool?
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4 B. Klein September 27, 2009 at 1:20 pm
CENDI (www.cendi.gov) is a cooperative of the major Federal science, technology and information centers. The CENDI Copyright Working Group is putting the finishing touches on a “Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright and Computer Software: Issues Affecting the U.S. Government with Special Emphasis on Open Source Software” for release in October 2009. The document was written by federal Intellectual Property attorneys; the principal authors are the from Defense Information Systems Agency and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
As Federal agencies are increasingly supporting the use and acquisition of open source software as an alternative to proprietary software in their information technology programs, the hope is this FAQ document will serve as a useful resource for contracting officers, program managers, information center staff, IT staff, and attorneys. It is a companion product to the “CENDI Frequently Asked Questions About Copyright.” http://www.cendi.gov/publications/04-8copyright.html
To give you an idea of what is covered, here’s an excerpt from the Table of Contents:
4.0 Computer Software and The U.S. Government
4.1 Have U.S. Government agencies issued policy guidance regarding the use of open source software?
4.2 How do the FAR and DFARS address the use of open source software?
4.3 Are there issues unique to federal agencies in distributing open source software?
4.4 Is the U.S. Government allowed to use open source software on government computer networks?
4.5 Are there any special issues involved in government use of OSS?
4.6 What are the OSS copyright licensing and contractual
considerations of greatest concern to the government?
4.7 What are the main OSS acquisition life cycle considerations?
4.8 What are the main OSS security assessment considerations?
4.9 Are there any particular advantages to government use of OSS, as compared to using proprietary software?
4.10 Are there any particular disadvantages to government use of OSS, as compared to using proprietary software?
4.11 Is the U.S. Government required to give preference to
proprietary software over OSS, or vice versa, in its acquisitions?
Check the CENDI Publications webpage at the end of next month.
B. Klein
Co-Chair, CENDI Copyright Working Group
5 B. Klein November 2, 2009 at 9:56 am
The CENDI OSS FAQs are now available at http://www.cendi.gov.
Also see the DoD OSS policy and companion FAQs at http://www.defenselink.mil/cio-nii/sites/oss/index.shtml
B. Klein