TheOpenAnalyst

You are browsing the archives of 2009 February.

Open-source entrepreneurs like Sun Microsystems’ Zack Urlocker and Cloudera’s Mike Olson were on parade on Wednesday at the Stanford Accel Symposium, but the biggest open-source announcement of all came from Bob Muglia, president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business.
Alfresco CTO John Newton was twittering the event and posted these comments from Bob Muglia’s presentation:
[...]

The government has published its policy on open-source software, promising to use open source rather than proprietary alternatives if there is no significant cost difference in products and services.
In a statement on Tuesday, the government said IT procurement decisions will be judged on total cost of ownership (TCO), including exit and transition costs. Open source [...]

The government has laid out a radical 10-point policy for using open-source software that is aimed at gaining greater value from IT.
Traditionally the government has used software primarily developed by commercial companies, though there are scattered examples of the use of open-source software, after a commitment to use more in 2004.
Half of the government’s departmental [...]

The UK government has said it will accelerate the use of open source software in public services.
Tom Watson MP, minister for digital engagement, said open source software would be on a level playing field with proprietary software such as Windows.
Open source software will be adopted “when it delivers best value for money”, the government [...]

The government has published a new policy aimed at promoting the use of open source software in the public sector.
It is also aimed at promoting open standards and encouraging the re-use of IT solutions. Measures include an education programme, guidance on procurement from the Chief Information Officers (CIO) Council and assessment of new products.
Government promotes [...]

When budgets are tightening pretty much everywhere, selling businesses on new software systems is not an easy job. However, open source development and support firms are using the world’s economic malaise to underscore their value propositions, hoping cash-strapped companies may give free software a closer look.
The ongoing economic meltdown has presented a unique strategic opportunity [...]

Tom Watson, the Cabinet Office minister charged with “digital engagement”, isn’t sitting around. The Cabinet Office today released an interesting document which it says will put open source software onto an equal footing with proprietary forms for procurement.
Announcing it, Watson said: “”Open Source software is a not a cure-all remedy and is not the only [...]

I am classically the pig at the ham and egg breakfast when it comes to the debate about the open core business model. The chicken at the breakfast is involved. The pig is committed. With that as my admitted bias, it’s time for me to weigh in on the debate that has ensued around the [...]

The U.S. government could save billions of dollars by moving to more open-source software, cloud computing and virtualization, a recent study suggests.
Over three years, the potential savings would be $3.7 billion for using open-source software, $13.3 billion for using virtualization technologies, and $6.6 billion from cloud computing or software as a service, the study said. [...]

I received a press release from Fortify Software today, suggesting that in the face of growing calls for Government procurement officials to embrace open source projects, officials need to be wary, and insist on secure development processes for any open source considerations.
Here’s an excerpt:
President Obama’s Administration is being encouraged to embrace open source software, copying [...]