IfG.CC -
Institute for eGovernment

And like health care, document management systems can be expensive. But that's not necessarily a set-in-stone cost. For example, Corpus Christi, Texas, CIO Michael Armstrong believes document management can be cheaper by utilizing companies that combine free open source document management software with traditional maintenance support -- a hybrid solution that can yield bargain-bin prices.

At HIMSS08, the Open eHealth Foundation announced that Agfa HealthCare, eHealth specialist InterComponentWare (ICW), and Sun Microsystems, Inc. have joined as foundation members of the new Open eHealth Foundation, an Open Source initiative that is unique in the healthcare IT arena. The Open eHealth Foundation will provide software components under an Open Source license that will boost the open standards-based exchange of medical information.

Ausgerechnet der US-Bundesstaat Kalifornien, der im Technologiezentrum Silicon Valley unzählige IT-Konzerne beheimatet, könnte nun verstärkt auf Open-Source-Software setzen.

The Reston, Va.-based firm reported this month that state and local government agencies are leading the public sector market in adopting open-source software because of IT budget restraints, increasing hardware and software licensing costs, and the need to manage operations more aggressively than the federal government.

In the official letter issued Jan. 7 from the state CIO's office, the policy establishes the use of OSS in California state government as an "acceptable practice." Farley doesn't know of any other states with similar OSS policies, but he said it's consistent with policies done by the U.S. Department of Defense and the UK government.

While Citizens Against Government Waste cited the memo in its complaint that open source can be more expensive than proprietary software, the OMB memo itself simply advises an adequate review of all software, regardless of whether it is open source or not. A CAGW press release states, "The OMB memo noted that open source software has more complex licensing requirements, requiring review by agency general counsel, which also adds to its costs.

Einen Tag nach der Amtseinführung von Barack Obama hatten Phillips und sein Team whitehouse.gov äußerlich renoviert und ein Blog eingeführt. Phillips' Leitsätze lauteten bereits damals: "Kommunikation, Transparenz und Beteiligung".

The Government Open Code Collaborative already has released a half dozen sets of open-source code and is poised to develop e-government applications, officials directing the initiative said.

“One of the things that has come up time and time again is the lack of a really good open-source content management solution geared toward e-government,” said Jim Willis, the collaborative’s technical chairman and e-government director with the Rhode Island’s Office of the Secretary of State. “That’s an arena where the collaborative can leave a permanent mark in the landscape.”

More than 60 percent of respondents said they either agreed or strongly agreed that architecture with open-source code is valuable and should be adopted.

While the federal government encourages agencies to consider open source through software-procurement guidelines and such executive mandates as the eGovernment Act, local and state governments will more aggressively push adoption in the long run, turning to VARs to supply the skills needed to take full advantage.

The Reston, Va.-based firm reported this month that state and local government agencies are leading the public-sector market in adopting open-source software solutions because of IT budget restraints, increasing hardware and software licensing costs, and the need to manage operations more aggressively than the federal government.

Open source may not be the standard in government, but neither is it an anomaly. New software-procurement guidelines from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and a memo by the former Department of Defense CIO are leveling the playing field between proprietary and open source. In addition, Linux Common Criteria certification has officially legitimized open source at the operating-system level as a secure option for government. Combine these steps with big budgets and many integrators are beginning to instinctively look to the federal government for the opportunity. But actually, it's for those very reasons--political patronage and budget--that the biggest opportunity is at the state and local level. Fewer dollars to throw around make open source an appealing alternative, and less bureaucracy makes it more easily attainable in the state and local sectors.

Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and several other states next month will launch a software repository designed to let government agencies make more efficient use of open-source software. The repository will be managed by the Government Open Code Collaborative, a newly formed group of seven states and four municipalities that will contribute and download open-source code and proprietary software designed by and for government agencies.

Saddled with an annual $75 billion price tag for IT infrastructure and related resources, the U.S. federal government is eager to find new ways to slash its IT expenditures. With promises of cutting IT infrastructure costs, diminishing vendor dependence and reducing licensing fees, both cloud computing and open source software fit the bill.