The UK government has said it will accelerate the use of open source
software in public services. Tom Watson MP, minister for digital
engagement, said open source software would be on a level playing
field with proprietary software such as Windows.
Steve Shine, European vice president of Ingres, an open source support
vendor, said the government’s action plan had “more teeth” than
policies being adopted in other countries because the plan was tied
into policies regarding how IT managers procure new software.
He said the move had partly been driven by a series of high-profile IT
failures in recent years that had relied on proprietary software.
Announcing an open source and open standards action plan, the
government said it would:
- ensure that the government adopts open standards and uses these to communicate with the citizens and businesses that have adopted open source solutions
- ensure that open source solutions are considered properly and, where they deliver best value for money are selected for government business solutions
- strengthen the skills, experience and capabilities within government and in its suppliers to use open source to greatest advantage
- embed an open source culture of sharing, re-use and collaborative development across government and its suppliers
- ensure that systems integrators and proprietary software suppliers demonstrate the same flexibility and ability to re-use their solutions and products as is inherent in open source.
Read more here: UK government backs open source
