Open source gets govt nod

Open source software is gaining traction in government departments because of its ability to stimulate the economy and develop the local skills base.

This is according to Stefan Lesicnik, technical director for Linux System Dynamics, who spoke during Obsidian Systems' first quarterly Free Beer Session last week.

He said a lot of government departments are migrating to run open source software in the back-end. However, he explained that end-users are generally reluctant to change, and this makes front-end migrations to open source more difficult.

Lesicnik noted: “SITA is currently developing and piloting a Linux desktop and some government institutions have deployed Linux and other open source software already.”

According to Lesicnik, the South African government is mandated through legislation to comply with the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) policy and the Open Document Format.

Lesicnik said awareness around the benefits of open source is increasing, with more businesses adopting the technology. “Businesses are increasingly mindful of the cost to implement new applications and then run and maintain these applications in the long-term.

“Open source provides a mechanism for them to test and try these applications before purchasing maintenance and support. JBoss is a good example of a popular open source Java application server that competes head-to-head with the propriety application servers.”