Open Source Becoming Increasingly Attractive To Governments

September 12th, 2006: The Philippines’ Manilla Standard Today is reporting that a bill is to be introduced to its government this week mandating the use of open source software and standards in all government projects.

According to the paper, the bill states that proprietary software is only to be used by the government when a proprietary system is already in place, and when no open source alternative is available.

The bill also states that no government agency may procure technology or services that are locked or dependant on a single vendor, and that free and open source licenses are to be legally recognised, a point that has made life difficult for tenders so far.

The bill also states that colleges and universities will not be allowed to offer certification form proprietary software or solutions if they do not a similar program for and open source software in their curriculum.

“There have been cases when government agencies make it difficult for a bidder to propose an open source software-based solution because of the inability to transfer licenses,” William Emmanuel Yu from the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science at the Ateneo de Manila University told The Manilla Standard Today. “This is because these licenses are not commercial and thus non-transferable. At least, with this bill, [open source] licensed software can be included in bids without this form of discrimination.”

While Yu praises the bill’s push towards open software and standards, he expressed scepticism about whether forcing institutions down one road rather than another is the right way to go.

“The mandatory use of open standards is definitely a good move,” Yu continued. “However... forcing the use of open source software is against the principles of open source itself which is essentially choice.

“Schools should be able to teach whatever they see fit to teach, I don’t think the government should start intervening in this respect.”

Open source software may not be in danger of replacing proprietary solutions, however, it is gathering momentum as a viable alternative for many government departments, institutions and organisations looking to cut costs and gain both flexibility and vendor neutrality.

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