Some governments are discovering that a cost-cutting resource is available just a click away. The British has been the last to open his eyes to free software and realize that this can be a good way to save money for his taxpayers; To use these programs it is not necessary to pay any type of license. Spain, at the European level, has been supporting everyone's software for some time.
In a statement made public last week, the British Information Council (CIO) points out the need to "build an 'open' culture of reuse and shared development between the government and its suppliers, with the aim of stimulating innovation and reducing costs". The British executive clearly sees the need to "work with system integrators and suppliers" so that their solutions incorporate open standards.
The CIO also points out that the government must choose, when there is equality in qualitative matters, free or open source software over proprietary software, although price is not the only reason. "When the cost difference is not significant, open source applications should be chosen due to their flexibility." These programs allow anyone to manipulate their code and make other products from it, as long as it is released under the same type of license.
In Canada, the government launched an official request for information in mid-January seeking citizen participation in the implementation of open source at the administration level. The language used in the petition reveals that cost reduction is the Canadian executive's main priority: "Free Licenses" are sought. Through a survey, Internet users are encouraged to participate and contribute ideas on how to implement and manage open source.
Spain, at the head of Europe
The National Reference Center for the Application of ICT (CENATIC), dependent on the Ministry of Industry, recently published a report on the situation in Spain. It details that the country is "among the most active in the EU in terms of adopting open source applications", and that many of the open source initiatives are having great acceptance in the public sector.
"The main advantage for administrations lies in reuse, cost savings derived from licenses, and non-dependence on a specific supplier," say sources from the National Open Source Software Observatory (ONSFA). The disadvantages, according to the CENATIC report, are the limited availability of technicians specialized in open source, the lack of advertising and the pre-installation of proprietary programs on many computers.