1. PITO Open Source in the Public Sector 16 March 2004 Bob Griffith Socitm International Secretary

2. Socitm Society of IT Management Professional Society for Public Sector IT Management to promote communication and best practice – established in 1986 No public funding 1800 members include:  Local Authorities (467)  Police  Fire  Housing Associations  Private Sector Promote an Open Environment

3. Local Government Market Place  Annual ICT Spend £2.1 bn  Desktops803,000 (185,000 purchased)  All major software products

4. “Open Source Software (OSS) is Free” What a great deal – so why doesn’t everyone use it?

5. OSS isn’t free but it is Libre Software Free of IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) – And it can be free

6. OSS Includes:- LINUX Open Office OSS is created by enthusiasts who want the satisfaction of having their software used. It is enhanced/developed by people who feel shared ownership.

7. OSS supplies about 5% of the desktop software, Microsoft supplies the rest, so proprietary rules.

8. The pros and cons of OSS and Proprietary have been well argued but the take-up is slow Reason – Business Issues

9. SOSS Socitm Open Source Software Group  Formed 2003  Identified two areas of OSS - Superstructure - Applications

10. Issues over take-up  Disbelief that things could be free  Can’t use it because there is no-one to sue  Support  Upgrades  Base your IT Strategy on something you don’t buy  Lack of understanding

11. OSS Applications Massive potential for local authorities, police, fire etc But how to make it happen Create a culture of shared responsibility. How to legislate for an enthusiastic champion?

12. Current OSS Initiatives  UK Policy on Open Source – Office of eEnvoy (Public Sector Procurement)  eEnvoy/OGC government group  Pilots – IBM, SUN  SOSS  Individual case studies  COSPA

13. COSPA Consortium for Open Source in Public Administrations FP6 project lasting 2 years totalling 4m euro with 2.6m euro EU funding

14. Public Sector OSS Scenarios  Version control  Corporate ICT Strategy  Attitude of proprietary suppliers  Conformance to eGIF  Interoperability