Open source software in the public sector

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About Subscribe Events. By Patrick Carey September 27, The policy itself tackles this possibility by requiring agencies to perform two tasks to stay compliant and mitigate the cybersecurity risk associated with open source code: Update their policies to be consistent with the Source Code Policy. Publish an inventory of their source code in the prescribed format on their website. Share This:. This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website.

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GCN uses cookies for analytics and personalization. By continuing to use this site, you agree to our use of cookies. Read our Privacy Policy to find out more. Almost There! Full Name. I Work For Please Provide Your Org. Phone Number. Zip code. Country Name. Some vendors may try to secure a proprietary agreement without making the license terms clear. It is my belief that open-source should be the norm when investing public dollars in custom software solutions.

Any time you are commissioning custom built software, seek vendors who are actively engaged in using and building open-source solutions. If a vendor proposes proprietary solutions, ask if it can be made open-source. I see a not-too-distant future where the default approach for publicly funded technology is an open-source solution.

By choosing an open-source model, you can benefit from shared solutions; other users have the opportunity to pick up where you left off, enhancing collaboration and developing features and functionality that will flow back to you. I was asked several questions by a journalist about open source and the public sector.

This is the first of four blog posts and the first question was: Should the public sector use open source software? The public sector and public governments should use the software that lets them provide the desired services best, long-term.

How much open source software this involves is secondary, in my opinion. That said: Like any industry, the public sector already uses substantial amounts of open source software by way of open source components built into commercial proprietary product. Open source is everywhere, including in Microsoft Windows and Office. Perhaps the actual question was: Should the public sector use products exclusively built from open source software? When purchasing a product, the purchaser should look at all relevant parameters, including long-term costs, speed of innovation, and quality.