While government recognises open source as a viable alternative, it still has a lot of work to do to transform systems, says the State IT Agency (SITA).
SITA says, despite its efforts, more needs to be done to foster greater acceptance and use of free and open source software (FOSS). It says that, while many cases prove it is the preferred application, this has not translated into greater open source adoption in government.
On 22 February 2007, Cabinet approved a policy and strategy for the implementation of FOSS in government. According to the policy, all new software developed for or by the government would in future be based on open standards and migrate all current software to FOSS.
SITA also acknowledges that, despite indications that open source adoption is increasing, government departments are still apprehensive and should be considering the same cost reductions that business is benefitting from.
The agency also acknowledges that, despite opinions that open source software can save the government money in terms of licensing fees and foster the development of IT skills in open source software, implementation still lags.
Promising, but....
The Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa (Fossfa), which recently signed a memorandum of understanding with SITA to promote the use of FOSS in SA, says the willingness in government departments is encouraging.
The organisation says more can still be done to drive FOSS as a key technology in innovation and foster development-oriented and affordable ICT applications in government. The organisation says a first step is to shift perspectives on open source in government.
The organisation says government needs to introduce appropriate policies and legislation that can lead to maximising the return on ICT expenditure and efficiency gains by allowing wider choice. The local software industry also needs to be promoted to develop better capacity to satisfy government's ICT needs. Lowering entry barriers for various kinds of new businesses into the IT industry is also essential and will help boost open source adoption in government, it says.
Govt success
SITA says there are noticeable open source initiatives across government. The agency claims 90% of departments have begun migrating to open source systems, but with varying degrees of success.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) has committed to a migration strategy to an open source IT environment. The National Bioinformatics Network, one of a number of DST-funded biotechnology agencies, has also adopted FOSS as a development platform for R&D tools in bioinformatics.
SITA says it has been instrumental in driving the national FOSS project, while formulating its own migration plan. Several applications are already in use in government through projects such as the Meraka Open Source Centre and the Centre for Public Service Innovation, it notes.
The Department of Arts and Culture says it is in an advanced stage of migration to open source software. The department says it has already migrated its mail servers, several desktops and business systems to FOSS. In addition, there are pockets of migration, both in its National Archives and National Film Archives sections.
No reservations
According to DeWet Bisschoff, technology consulting managing executive at Accenture, many businesses have long been considering open source software as a viable alternative to proprietary software - and this should be the same in government.
“The British government has pledged to accelerate the use of open source software. The minister for digital engagement recently called it “one of the most significant cultural developments in IT and beyond over the last two decades”, he says.
Any questions about the scalability, performance and reliability of open source software have been answered through its use on such popular social networking Web sites such as Facebook, he notes. Many best performing businesses view open source on an equal footing with proprietary software, and now use it for mission-critical applications, he adds.
“It's this opportunity to save significant costs during difficult economic times that has convinced many mainstream businesses that the time is finally right. They have become more comfortable with open source software and have overcome the old perceptions: that proprietary software is bulletproof, and that open source is not; that it's not supported or that it's good for small applications only,” he says.
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SITA pushes open source adoption
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