[plug] Fwd: Use of Open Source Software in Government

[garry]

This is the reply I received following a recent email sent to Richard 
Alston's office. I raised the issue of the savings which are there to be had 
for simply changing to OS software. Also I mentioned the benefit to our 
foreign a/c etc...

This sounds to me like typical political drivel, but I've forwarded it for 
interest.. 

Sorry for the bandwidth if you are not interested..

Garry.

----------  Forwarded Message  ----------

Subject: Use of Open Source Software in Government
Date: Wed, 19 Dec 2001 13:54:33 +1100
From: "Dann, Tracy" <Tracy.Dann at noie.gov.au>
To: "'garbuck at tpg.com.au'" <garbuck at tpg.com.au>

Dear Mr Buckle,

Thank you for your e-mail of 3 December 2001 addressed to the Minister for
Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Richard Alston,
regarding the use of open source software.  The Minister's office has asked
me to respond.

You will appreciate that, in accordance with the Financial Management and
Accountability Act, it is the obligation of all Government agencies to seek
best value for money and apply clear and consistent performance-based
procurement principles to any purchase.

When tendering for information technology solutions and equipment, it is the
Government's practice to stipulate requirements in functional terms and then
evaluate the responses accordingly. Typically, these criteria will include
the ability to integrate with legacy systems (human resources, financial
management information systems, etc), interoperability with other agencies,
and evidence of a strong support base for any proposed solution.

Vendors offering open source software solutions that meet the published
selection criteria are free to tender for government business opportunities.


Technology is constantly evolving, and demands on it are becoming more
sophisticated.  To meet these demands, Government consistently strives to
ensure technologies provide the appropriate service and are cost-effective.
Open source software has been evolving over the past ten years and it is
possible that, as this model matures, it will have wider universal
application to both large and small users.  In this situation it is
foreseeable that the Government may adopt open source solutions more
broadly, however, this ultimately is an individual agency decision.

The National Office for the Information Economy is keeping an eye on recent
global developments in the open source software area to see how these could
be beneficial to Australia. When available, any information will be
published on the NOIE web site (www.noie.gov.au).

Thank you for bringing this issue to the Minister's attention.

Tracy Dann (Mr)
General Manager
e-Government Infrastructure
National Office for the Information Economy

Phone +61 2 6271 1645
Fax   +61 2 6271 1659

Phone +61 2 6271 1645
Fax     +61 2 6271 1659




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