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Notiziario Marketpress di
Lunedì 13 Ottobre 2003 |
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GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATES WIDER USE OF OPEN SOURCE IT SYSTEMS ACROSS PUBLIC SECTOR
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Segrate, 13 ottobre 2003 - The Government has announced its latest development to promote wider competition in the public sector It market by launching a series of Open Source Software (Oss) trials across both central government departments and the wider public sector. Nine ´proof of concept´ pilots are being coordinated by the Office of Government Commerce (Ogc) and the Office of the eEnvoy (Oee). They build upon the joint Ogc/oee strategy on the use of Oss across the public sector and aim towards the implementation of Oss as an alternative to proprietary software. These initial trials are being run by Ibm and will measure the effectiveness and cost-benefits of It systems based on Oss products, when compared against proprietary software solutions. They may lead to further pilot-studies with a limited range of selected suppliers to validate the emerging findings. Departments taking part in the trials are: - Office of the Deputy Prime Minister - Office of the eEnvoy - Powys Borough Council - Newham Borough Council - Ofwat Ogc Chief Executive, Peter Gershon, welcomed this development saying: "This builds upon our commitment to create a level playing field between Oss from a range of suppliers and propriety software within Government procurement. The trials will operate in a controlled environment and will enable us to identify when and how-best to use the technology to the benefit of departments and the taxpayer alike." Larry Hirst, General Manager of Ibm Uk stated: "Customers around the world are already benefiting from open systems and an open approach to computing. In today´s diverse It environments, especially those in the Government space, open source software like Linux can help lower dependency on a single software provider. This can help reduce overall costs and increase the flexibility and reliability across an infrastructure." The Office of the e-Envoy has a published policy on the use of Open Source Software. This approach fits that policy, which encourages proper consideration of Open Source Software with other proprietary brands. Andrew Pinder, the Government´s e-Envoy said of the pilots: "Our Open Source policy acknowledges the competitive viability of Oss solutions and these pilot-studies should provide a good opportunity to demonstrate this. Uk Government is keen to explore the potential for Oss solutions to achieve cost-savings and an increased flexibility in the development, enhancement and integration of our It systems." At the same time Ogc announced its latest deal on pricing arrangements for Software with Ibm. This will offer enhanced discounts across the public sector with additional savings where Linux products are specified. |
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