Govt advisory body recommends open source

Johannesburg, 09 Sep 2002

Government is beefing up its investigations into open source software (OSS) with the release of a policy framework document by a high-level government advisory body.

The framework, released for public comment by the open source workgroup of the Government Information Officers` Council (GITO), recommends that government "explicitly" support the adoption of open source software as part of its e-government strategy. GITO includes all government CIOs, including provincial ones.

The report highlights the growing licence burdens of proprietary software and the reliance on imported technologies and skills as some of the reasons for moving away from proprietary solutions to open source. The release of the document coincides with the release of a government open source site at www.oss.gov.za.

The working group document says: "Open source has emerged as a powerful new way to generate knowledge and economic value." It adds that open source supports "a rapid evolutionary process that produces better products in less time than the traditional closed model".

It lists the benefits of open source as reduced costs and decreased dependency on imported technology and skills; affordability; universal access through mass software roll-out without costly licensing implications; the avoidance of proprietary software "lock-in"; and the ability to customise software to local languages and cultures.

The document says open source software will "maximise the value of ICT budgets through savings on dollar-based licence costs and efficiency gains through the avoidance of potential lock-in".

The use of OSS will also lower the entry barriers for research and development by creating an enabling space unconstrained by policy and legal requirements that discriminate against OSS.

"Open software has reached a critical mass that has allowed it to enter the mainstream software market and its impact is becoming noticeable in the software industry and society as a whole. Open software is an especially useful tool to allow developing countries to leapfrog into the information age."

Arno Webb, chairman of the GITO OSS working group, says work on the framework started a year ago and was motivated primarily by a directive from Parliament to investigate open source software in government structures. "Parliament has put us under an obligation to investigate open source software.

"There is also some alarm about the amounts of money that government is spending on licences," says Webb, adding that there are areas in government where open source software is already in use, particularly for Internet services and e-mail.

Conceding that there are still a number of gaps in the policy, he says that by opening this up to public debate, the intention is to close them as quickly as possible.

The document will remain open for comment until the end of September. A revised and extended document will then be submitted to GITO in November for ratification.

Open source software was also the focus of attention at a week-long "open source software focus week" hosted two weeks ago by the Centre for Public Service Innovation. The activities included a research symposium hosted by the State Information Technology Agency as well as an "innovation zone" which included public participation to define the needs and solutions available to the public service.

In previous developments, the National Advisory Council on Innovation, an advisory body originally created to advise the minister of the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, released an open source policy document in January to promote the use of OSS in government.