Open Source Software and the Australian Government 1 Brian Catto Director, Governance and Policy...

Open Source Softwareand the

Australian Government

1

Brian Catto

Director, Governance and Policy Branch

Australian Government Information Management Office

Department of Finance and Deregulation

18th

November 2011

Outline - 12

Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO)

Outline - 23


About AGIMOBusiness group

(Australian Government Information Management Office)4


Purpose•foster the efficient and effective use of information and communications technology (ICT) by Australian government departments and agencies

•provides advice, tools, information and services to help Australian government departments and agencies use ICT to improve administration and service delivery

•works with governments and other bodies at the local, state, national and international levels

About AGIMO (2)

Leadership•development of whole of government ICT strategies (e.g. cloud computing strategy)•co-ordinate governance of ICT (whole of government and cross jurisdictional)Procurement•on behalf of government – desktop hardware, licenses, telecommunications services, data centre facilities

5


About AGIMO (3)

Operations•Intra Government Communications Network (ICON)•FedLink•.gov.au domain naming regime across Australia•directory.gov.au – guide to structure, organisations and key people within the Australian government

6


About AGIMO (4)

Policy•ICT investment management•Internet Gateway Reduction Program•Data Centre Strategy•ICT staff teleworking policy•IPv6 transition policy•Open Source policy•Bespoke Development policy

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About AGIMO (5)

Advice•Australian Government Architecture framework•Better Practice Guidelines•Security and Authentication standards•Australians’ use of the internet and e-government services (annual study)•web publishing and web content accessibility guidelines

8


About AGIMO

Service Delivery•australia.gov.au – online entry point for government information

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About AGIMO

Service Delivery•data.gov.au – online repository of public sector datasets

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About AGIMO

Service Delivery•govdex.gov.au – secure online collaboration for government

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About AGIMO

Service Delivery•govspace.gov.au – online social media platform

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About AGIMO

Service Delivery•AGIMO Blog – agimo.govspace.gov.au - announcements from AGIMO

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Open Source Software• Source code that is available to view, use, modify

and redistribute (under various licensing obligations)

• Subject to copyright

• Variety of sourcing options

• Not necessarily free

• Examples …

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Opportunities 15


• Cost (usually no upfront payment)

• Encourages competitive support services market

• Encourages collaboration

• Less restrictions on software users

• Users take direct control of software maintenance and support

Opportunities (2)16


• Provides opportunity to try the software before committing to it

• May reduce vendor lock-in

• Allows users to view and modify the source code

• Users can rapidly take advantage of improved functionality from new releases

• Increases interoperability

• Is usually modular

Considerations17


• Total cost of ownership (aka whole of life costs)

• Warranties/Indemnities

• Support and Maintenance

• Maturity (Stability)

• Need for Customisation

Considerations (2)18


• Community

• Training for users

• Innovation

• Liability

• Licensing Obligations

• Portability

• Release Management

• Reliability

• Restrictions on Use

• Re-Use

• Security

The International Landscape

Brazil – referenced in Gershon 2.12.7 : • “….determined to effectively use the latest ICT technologies…..”; • “….making some of the world’s largest investment in open source software.”

– Nov 2003 – encourage use of OSS

– 2005 – 300,000 gov computers switched from MS to Linux

– 2006 – supporting locally produced open source products

– 2008 – 73% of large companies use OSS

19


UK•2010 - Release of “Open Source, Open Standards and ReUse: Government Action Plan”.

•UK government will actively and fairly consider open source solutions alongside proprietary solutions in making procurement decisions

•Where there is no significant monetary difference, open source products will be selected due to their “inherent flexibility”

20



USA•2003 – Dept of Defense approved use of open source software (subject to meeting security standards)

•Current policy mandates that open source solutions must be considered. Policy states that both OSS and non-OSS are equally acceptable, and that a decision should be made based on merit. “OSS neutral”

21



Canada

• Several city administrations (eg Edmonton) and Federal departments use OSS, but no clear Federal policy regarding OSS

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New Zealand

•NZ Government Agencies are encouraged to assess open source software alternatives (where these exist) alongside commercial software, and should choose based on cost, functionality, interoperability, and security.

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Other Countries•Many countries have open source policies

•Some (such as Argentina and Ecuador) mandate use of open source for all government agencies

•Most (such as Belgium) recommend consideration of open source and proprietary software looking for best fit and value for money

•Some (such as Cambodia and China) require government departments to show a preference for Open Source

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Australian Government Position on Open Source Software - 2005

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• Informed Neutrality

• An unbiased position that does not favour either open source or proprietary software.

• ‘Value for money’

• In accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines (CPGs).

Australian Government Policy - 2011

• Australian Government agencies must consider open source software once a decision to acquire software has been made.

• Agreed by Secretaries’ ICT Governance Board (SIGB) on 21 December 2010 and applied to any ICT procurement initiated after 1 March 2011

• Subject to opt-out (Process for Administration of Opt-Outs from Whole-of Government ICT Arrangements): Agencies must go to Expenditure Review Committee (ERC) to opt-out of policy

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Principle 1: Australian Government ICT procurement processes must actively and fairly consider all types of available software.

> $80K – Procurement Plan, RFT< $80K – Document decision

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Open Source Software Policy Principles

Principle 2: Suppliers must consider all types of available software when dealing with Australian Government agencies.

Agencies Tender documentationSuppliers RFT responses

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Principle 3: Australian Government agencies will actively participate in open source software communities and contribute back where appropriate.

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Use of Open Source Software within the Australian Government

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• AGIMO surveys all agencies annually

• 2011 survey showed almost 60 agencies were using open source software

• 2011 survey showed over 750 open source implementations with over 200 products in use

Use of Open Source Software within the Australian Government

• Open source is being used on many platforms including Windows, Solaris, Unix and Mac

• Applications include –web platforms (such as Apache)– operating systems (such as RedHat Linux)– Geospatial applications (such as GeoNetwork)– web browsers (such as Mozilla Firefox)

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“Australia is one of the countries that stands out for its OSS activity, particularly the participation of its communities on both a national and international level.”

Report on the International Status of Open Source Software 2010

National Open Source Software Observatory(www.cenatic.es)

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The Future

AGIMO will continue to monitor OSS usage within government and will review the effectiveness of the new policy in the first half of 2012 Gartner predicts:

– By 2016, 50% of leading non-IT organisations will use OSS as a business strategy to gain competitive advantage

– By 2016, OSS will be included in mission-critical software portfolios within 99% of Global 2000 enterprises (compared with 75% in 2010)

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Further Information

Guide to Open Source Software for Australian Government Agencies

• Updated version released June 2011 (available from Finance website)

Open Source Software Community of Interest

• Information sharing forum for members of the APS

• Meets several times a year

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Contact

• Email: [email protected] • Finance Website:

http://www.finance.gov.au/e-government/strategy-and-governance/Whole-of-Government-ICT-Policies.html

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Thank you

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