The global momentum behind open source is now unstoppable and SA could be at the front of this trend, Mark Shuttleworth told journalists on Friday, ahead of the Go Open Source Task Team Conference taking place in Johannesburg today and tomorrow.
Shuttleworth, head of the Shuttleworth Foundation, hopes the conference will lay the groundwork for a national strategy and pave the way for open source software in SA.
The conference is aimed at taking stock of the open source position in this country, and examining and mapping various projects within local, provincial and national government departments.
"I hope that a clear list of projects within each department will emerge. It is not necessary that government departments use only open source to put us in the lead, but we need specific projects," Shuttleworth said.
"We need concrete outcomes. To say open source is a good thing is not enough to put SA at the top. What is needed are specific roadmaps for government departments to use in their strategies."
[VIDEO]He commented that SA could be at the forefront of the open source movement, where government is leading the way in terms of support and commitment. This, he said, is typical of developing countries, where open source is driven by State support, as opposed to developed countries, where open source is mainly supported by the private sector.
The window of opportunity for open source in SA is open, Shuttleworth said, but warned that this may only be for a short time.
"The economic case for open source is becoming clearer and clearer," he said, adding that a growing number of companies are becoming aware of improved efficiencies and skills creation driven by open source.
The conference, he said, hosted by a task team that was appointed by the Presidential Advisory Council a year ago, can potentially lay out a strategic plan for open source that will attract foreign investment to SA.
"Every industry has a proprietary leader and an open source competitor. We would like to see open source becoming the leader in every industry, driven by government's ICT strategy."
Shuttleworth pointed out that he would like to see collaboration between SA and countries like Australia, which has successfully rolled out open source in its healthcare sector. SA could then roll-out similar strategies in the rest of Africa, becoming a bridge between developed and developing countries.
Adi Attar, project manager for open source platform Ubuntu, told ITWeb on Friday that the Go Open Source Task Team Conference would focus on short-, medium- and long-term open source projects.
These will also focus on areas of education and knowledge dissemination, and it is expected that a timeframe for open source projects will be established.
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