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Open Source Software Frequently Asked QuestionsQ2. How is open source being used now in the federal government to your knowledge? Q3. How could it be used more? Q1. Can you tell me what the position is in Canada with respect to departments and agencies using open-source software? Are there any legislative or administrative initiatives at the federal or provincial level in this regard? To support service delivery to Canadians and the internal operations of government, the Government of Canada has adopted a business-driven standards- and architecture-based approach to develop its information technology infrastructure and systems. As a result, departments and agencies base their decisions to acquire, develop and use software (including Open Source Software) on their business needs and the principles set out in the government's Federated Architecture Program. Existing Canadian federal legislation, agreements and policies accommodate a wide variety of business models for public sector software acquisition, use, production and distribution. Accordingly, software solutions used in the Government of Canada come under many license types, including certified "open source" or "free/libre" software licenses. The Federated Architecture Program includes thirteen architecture principles to guide the development of information technology infrastructure and systems within the federal government. Four of these principles (principles 1, 5, 6, and 7) are especially applicable to the acquisition and use of software including open-source software:
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is responsible for the Federated Architecture Program and the development of information technology, management and security policies and standards. Q2. How is open source being used now in the federal government to your knowledge? The following are some examples of OSS now in the federal government:
Q3. How could it be used more? We are witnessing a trend towards increased use of open-source solutions. Therefore, we expect that as more federal public-sector decision makers become aware of what is available in terms of open-source solutions, we will see more of them being used in government. That being said, the Government of Canada's approach is to have departments and agencies base their software decisions on their business needs and the principles set out in the government's Federated Architecture Program. The Federated Architecture Program includes thirteen architecture principles to guide the development of information technology infrastructure and systems within the federal government. Four of these principles are especially applicable to the acquisition and use of software including open-source software:
Q4. Do you support the idea of mandating the use of open source as some jurisdictions have done? Or should market demand drive that as opposed to laws? Again, the Government of Canada's approach is to have departments and agencies base their decisions to acquire, develop and use software, including open source, on their business needs and the principles set out in the government's Federated Architecture Program. Mandating one type of solution restricts decision-makers flexibility to choose the best available solution according to their business needs and the principles of the government's Federated Architecture Program. Q5. What are the advantages of using open source particularly in the public sector? Disadvantages or issues? How does ease of use and training factor into this issue? I would like to turn the question around: what we see is the advantage of being able to include open-source solutions in the range of choices available to public sector decision makers. It gives them many other options in their efforts:
In terms of ease of use and training, these and other issues are factored into the decision of what software to use. They are not unique to open source. They also arise with proprietary software. The challenge to the government is ensuring that the decision makers have the information necessary in order to make informed decisions. The Chief Information Officer Branch at Treasury Board Secretariat and partners such as PWGSC and Industry Canada are currently assisting IT decision-makers throughout the public sector to gain and apply working knowledge about the full spectrum of operational and strategic business choices available to them when acquiring, using, producing and/or distributing software. Q6. In terms of building awareness and the marketing aspect of open source in government, is that an issue mainly with the people who do procurement as opposed to the people who implement technology? All stakeholders should be aware of the solutions that are available and the full range of business model options and licensing terms that various solutions come under. It is also a matter of sufficient awareness amongst suppliers, not only those who are acquiring or implementing solutions. In the case of the Government of Canada, as I mentioned earlier the Chief Information Officer Branch at Treasury Board Secretariat along with other departments and agencies are currently assisting IT decision-makers throughout the public sector to gain and apply working knowledge about the full spectrum of operational and strategic business choices available to them when acquiring, using, producing and/or distributing software. Q7. I understand the government has commissioned a study on open source business opportunities. Where are we with that at the moment? What have we learned? Name of Report: Open Source Software in Canada: Open Source
Business Opportunities for Canada's Information and Communications Technology
Sector: A Collaborative Fact Finding Study. The study was completed in September 2003. It has enabled us to understand the current level of open-source software adoption and development activity in the Canadian public and private sector as well as their opinions vis-à-vis relevant strategic issues and the long-term prospects of open-source software. Further, it presented an environmental scan of the current state of open-source software and relevant worldwide trends. It also enabled us to gain a better understanding of the opportunities, barriers and conditions for adoption in the Government of Canada. Q8. One of the issues I've heard raised with the difficulty of using open source in government more is related to the amount of data stored in proprietary file formats. Is there any way around this that you can see? This issue is not unique to open-source solutions. This same challenge would arise when moving from one proprietary solution to another proprietary solution. The Government of Canada has indicated in its Federated Architecture Plan that it is moving to standards-based formats. We see a number of advantages for the government in moving to standards-based formats including:
Q9. Do you have any predictions as to where the public sector will be with open source in, say, five years? As I said earlier, we are witnessing a trend towards increased use of open-source solutions. Therefore, we expect that as more federal public-sector decision makers become aware of what is available in terms of open-source solutions, we will see more of them being used in government. That being said, the Government of Canada's approach is to have departments and agencies base their software decisions on their business needs and the principles set out in the government's Federated Architecture Program. Q10. Are there any policies or restrictions in place with regards to downloading Open Source Software? Caution must be used when downloading or using any software. Employees must consider licensing & procurement implications in addition to security & network impacts. Many departments and agencies have rules and regulations regarding the implementation of software which must be understood prior to any installation. |
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