[Openmind 2012] Free Software in the public sector: Getting it right & getting value by Karsten Gerloff (President, FSFE)

Openmind 2012 / Open Knowledge Festival 2012
http://okfestival.org/open-source-software/

Transcript

1. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Karsten Gerloff Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) <gerloff@fsfeurope.org> http://fsfe.org Free Software in the public sector: Getting it right & getting value
2. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Library of France awards open source maintenance contract
3. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Germany's public authorities moving to open source mail and groupware
4. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Belgian government makes available source code of voting machines
5. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Brazil's Parliament studying reuse of Estonian e-government solutions
6. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by White House makes public software to create and sign petitions
7. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Law makes open source the default for Italian public administrations
8. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Good reasons for Free Software • Use, study, share, improve • Vendor independence • Open Standards • Adaptability • Reuse • Access for citizens • Cost savings
9. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Success factors for migrations Hard factors • Proper planning & execution • Training for IT staff & users • Communication & buy-in
10. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Success factors for migrations Soft factors • Strategic thinking • Motivation • Political backing
11. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by The next frontier: procurement
12. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Problem: brand names Art. 23(8) of Directive 2004/18/EC: “technical specifications shall not refer to a specific make or source, [...] with the effect of favouring or eliminating certain undertakings or certain products”.
13. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Reality Almost one in five software tenders on TED mentions a trademark
14. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by FSFE pilot project in Finland • Regularly review public calls for tender • If brand name mentioned, inform the authority running the tender • If no fix possible, FSFE may push to have call invalidated
15. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Favouritism Procurement process tailored to favour particular suppliers
16. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Favouritism Procurement process tailored to favour particular suppliers: • European Commission hasn't run a public call for tender for office suites & desktop operating systems for 20 years
17. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Old habits die hard • Public bodies sometimes prefer to work with established partners • Lots too big for SMEs
18. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Doing it right • Functionalities & standards, not brand names • Include exit costs. Break dependency on proprietary formats & macros • Buy Open Standards • Get the rights to use, study, share and improve the software
19. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Easy action items • Establish Free Software working groups in existing public sector associations • Train procurement people, reduce reliance on vendors' sales pitch • Create best practice awards – e.g. Best call for tender
20. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Doing it better • Framework contracts for Free Software (Kammarkollegiet, Sweden) • Release software developed with public funds (Basque Country, Spain) • Make Free Software the default choice (Italy)
21. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Conclusions • No longer “why Free Software?”, but “why not?” • Procurement is broken. We need to fix it. • Government & public bodies can do much, much more to take advantage of Free Software.
22. OpenMind & OKFestival, Helsinki, 18.9.2012 © 2012 FSFE cc-by Thank you! Karsten Gerloff Free Software Foundation Europe <gerloff@fsfeurope.org>