Text 08

FOSS Government Policy and E--Government
8 FOSS Government Policy and E--Government

Free/Open--Source Software has drawn the interest of national and local govern-
ments worldwide, who are increasingly adopting FOSS. This chapter describes the
reasons for FOSS deployment by nation-
al governments around the world. Trends (8) FOSS Government Policy and E-
Government
in FOSS deployment and characteristics of
Reasons for FOSS promotion by national and local
FOSS government policy are examined by government

Considering reasons why does government promote
region and country. FOSS?
Trends in Europe
Examples of Germany (Munich), UK, and France
Trends in the United States

US government, state governments (case study in
Massachusetts)
Trends in Asia
Situations regarding FOSS in east and southeast Asia
Trends in national and local Japanese government

FOSS adoption trends and their policies
An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software
Copyright © 2005,2006, Center of the International Cooperation for Computerization (CICC) All Rights Reserved.
201
Copyright © 2005,2006, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2008, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. All Rights Reserved.
8.1 Reasons for FOSS Promotion by National and Local Governments

This section examines the reasons for national and local governments to promote
FOSS, focusing on the following four aspects:
1. Reduce costs and vendor lock--in: FOSS Reasons for FOSS Promotion by
reduces system building costs for e--gov- National and Local Government
ernment at national and local levels, Reduce costs and vendor lock-in
Efforts to make sense in government procurement
capitalizing on the low cost of FOSS Transparency of procurement and security

Transparency of procurement and ensuring of security
and its independency on a specific ven- through the utilizing the nature of FOSS are expected
Fostering the development of domestic industry

dor. FOSS critical to promoting national IT Industry
Overcoming the Digital Divide

FOSS is very efficient with low investment for the
2. Transparency of procurement and se- introduction of IT
curity: The features of FOSS are an-

ticipated to ensure transparency of pro- An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software
Copyright © 2005,2006, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
202
curement and security.
3. Foster development of domestic industry: Utilization of FOSS is aimed at fos-

tering the development of domestic IT industries.
4. Overcome the digital divide: FOSS is extremely effective for achieving comput-
erization with limited funds.
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Reasons for FOSS Promotion by National and Local Governments
8.1.1 Reduce Costs and Vendor Lock--In
8.1.1.1 FOSS to Reduce Costs

It is correct to say that the biggest rea-
son for national and local governments to Reduce Costs and Vendor Lock-In
deploy FOSS is to reduce costs. The role

Reduce costs
of government is to spend taxes in order Thought to be chief advantage of deploying GNU/Linux
Nearly always true when replacing Unix
to generate and provide public services. There- TCO gap with Windows is small and debatable
Focus turns to maintenance costs
fore, it is entirely natural for governments Maintenance of middleware and applications; cost of
administrative engineers
Purpose of government to spend taxes by generating

to wish to deploy FOSS to improve efficien- and providing public services; governments seek to
deploy FOSS for improved efficiency
cy. FOSS can be licensed without charge, Prevent vendor lock-in

Important from standpoint of fairness
enabling deployment at a lower cost than Extreme example of vendor lock-in: One yen bid
-> See Vendor Lock-In
using commercial software. FOSS also runs An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software

Copyright © 2005,2006, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 203
on low cost PC servers instead of expensive

mainframes and Unix servers, which drives
down costs significantly.
In addition to deployment costs, system costs must be considered in terms of the
total cost of ownership (TCO), which includes the cost of operations. TCO includes
maintenance costs for everything from hardware and operating systems to middle-
ware and application software. Personnel costs relating to operations management
are also factored into the TCO.
The general assumption is that it is possible to reduce costs by replacing expensive
Unix servers with FOSS systems that run on PC servers. However, there is only a
small gap when comparing the TCO of Windows and FOSS systems running on PC
servers. It is difficult to determine which of the two has the lower TCO.
8.1.1.2 FOSS to Reduce Vendor Lock--In

Another aspect of FOSS is its independency on a specific vendor, which distinguishes
it from commercial software. It is preferable for national and local governments to
avoid building information systems (IS) using only products from a specific vendor.
This is also desirable from the standpoint of fairness in the public sector.
Vendor lock--in is evil in several ways, chiefly because increasing costs and lower
quality become inescapable under vendor lock--in. The principle of competition is
lost and it becomes impossible to change vendors when costs escalate or quality
drops. An extreme example of vendor lock--in is the “one yen bid.” Under this
arrangement, a vendor bids for a system design contract at a loss. This is done in
order to gain high value contracts for later systems building and operations.
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FOSS enables the use of many unspecified vendors. By adopting FOSS, govern-
ments can expect lower dependency on specific vendors, resulting in healthy market
competition. This in turn enables governments to procure high quality systems at
a low cost.
8.1.2 Transparency of Procurement and Security
8.1.2.1 Transparency of Procurement

Government systems procurement differs in some ways from procurement by pri-
vate sector companies. This is due to the need to ensure transparency of pro-
curement. The World Trade Organization
(WTO) has even established a Working Transparency of Procurement and
Security
Group on Transparency in Government Pro-
Transparency necessary for government procurement
curement Practices (WGTGP) as a result WTO Ministerial Conference
Established Working Group on Transparency in Government
of a WTO Ministerial Conference. Procurement Practices
Ensure transparency and competitiveness of public

procurement
Systems procurement in the public sector Issues
Closed public procurement
has a tendency to become closed. This is Prevent government-initiative collusion
Since source code for FOSS is released, using FOSS promises to
due to frequent personnel transfers within Security

ensure transparency of procurement
the public sector and the difficulty of devel- China cites need to ensure national security as one reason
for promoting FOSS
oping IT experts within IT section. Con- Backdoor mechanisms cannot be hidden with FOSS

sequently, many areas of the public sector

have long relied on vendors for tasks that
should be performed by the procurement side. These tasks range from systems
procurement planning and preparation of requirements specifications to receiving
inspections. It is not unusual for governments to designate a specific vendor and
procure systems without any competitive bids, resulting in government--initiative
collusion.
Since FOSS is released at the source code level, deployment of FOSS enables other
companies to examine the internal workings of currently running systems. Under
this arrangement, other companies continually have an opportunity to participate
in procurement. Transparency of procurement drives the principle of competition,
resulting in fair procurement.
8.1.2.2 National Security

Governments also view security as an advantage of FOSS. “Security” is used here
in the sense of ensuring national security, not in terms of security against viruses,
unauthorized access or information leakage.
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Reasons for FOSS Promotion by National and Local Governments
For commercial software that is developed in foreign countries, the internal imple-
mentation of software is invisible. This makes it difficult to eliminate the risk of
backdoor mechanisms that could lead to information leakage or intentional system
down--time. These kinds of security holes cannot be hidden under FOSS, which is
beneficial from the standpoint of ensuring national security.
Reliance on foreign software also hinders the development of core technologies for
national defense systems and government backbone systems. This is viewed in
some quarters as increasing the vulnerability to interference from other countries.
Using FOSS enables the domestic software industry to take on development of these
systems, which is necessary to ensuring national security. Although these views
might seem unrealistic, the Chinese government has actually cited the need to ensure
national security as one reason for deploying FOSS.
8.1.3 Fostering the Development of Domestic Industry
8.1.3.1 FOSS Critical to Promoting National IT Industry

Outside of the United States, many countries have cited the desire to foster the de-
velopment of their domestic software industries as a reason for FOSS deployment. IT
vendors from the United States currently
dominate almost all of the package soft- Fostering the Development of
Domestic Industry
ware market, in everything from operating
Critical mission of governments to promote
systems to middleware and applications. domestic IT industry

IT vendors from US dominate almost all of package software
Package software is structured so that prof- market
Governments dislike dependency on foreign sources for

high revenue, core software
its increase as the number of software ship- Desire to avoid black boxing of infrastructure technology
Strong FOSS emphasis in Europe and Asia

ments rises. These profits directly trans- Germany: Home to leading FOSS vendors such as SUSE, KDE,
OpenOffice, etc.
late into trade deficits with various coun- China: Announced policy to restrict government procurement to
domestic software
Japan: Local governments active in fostering

tries. Governments in these countries hope local IT industry
Hokkaido, Okinawa, Gifu, Nagasaki Prefectures
to use FOSS to foster the development of Desire to eliminate subcontractor structure for local IT firms

their domestic software industries. This is

also expected to at least make a dent in
reducing the foreign outflow of licensing fees.
Operating systems and middleware in particular are software infrastructure tech-
nologies. Domestic R&D into software technologies is hindered when these infras-
tructure technologies depend on foreign “black box” products. Since infrastructure
software technologies are released as FOSS, utilizing FOSS also becomes essential
to fostering the development of an internationally competitive software industry.
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8.1.3.2 Strong FOSS Emphasis in Europe and Asia

The use of FOSS to promote domestic software industries has drawn particular
interest in parts of Europe and Asia. Strong government policies for FOSS are
being promoted in these regions, led by the example set by Germany and China.
Germany has historically been home to leading FOSS vendors such as SUSE, KDE
and OpenOffice.org. The German government is capitalizing on these strengths by
drafting preferential policies designed to foster the development of FOSS vendors.
China has rapidly turned its attention to FOSS since 2000. The Chinese govern-
ment views FOSS as a critical element to fostering the development of its domestic
software industry. The emphasis on FOSS also reflects a desire to maintain national
security. China has announced a policy that restricts government procurement to
domestic software. This policy further banks on using FOSS to cover for areas not
addressed by domestic commercial software.
8.1.4 Overcoming the Digital Divide

The digital divide among the poor is an escalating problem in developing countries.
Digitization is widespread among high--income earners and provides access to up--to--
date information, which opens up opportu-
nities to further increasing income. In con- Overcoming the Digital Divide
trast, low--income earners cannot purchase
Digital divide
digital equipment. This makes it difficult Digital divide created by gaps in income
Digitization among high-income earners
for the poor to obtain information and rise Low-income earners cannot obtain digital equipment
FOSS effective in promoting digitization among

beyond their current economic status. low-income earners
Enables IT advancement with limited funds
FOSS can run on low cost machines with Also critical to provide cheap hardware and affordable
education
basic specifications. It also enables indi- One of the acute problems facing Southeast Asia
viduals to obtain a diverse range of soft- and South Asia in particular

Overcoming the digital divide in developing countries
ware at no cost. FOSS is extremely effec- FOSS deployment expected to solve this situation

tive for achieving digitization among low--

income earners. Operating and mainte-
nance costs relating to FOSS information terminals for personal use are extremely
low, in addition to low hardware costs. The cost advantage of software without
charge is maximized on low cost information terminals.
The digital divide is particularly acute in Southeast Asia and South Asia. Ventures
to develop and distribute low cost PCs and information terminals using FOSS have
emerged in these regions. The Simputer venture in India and the People’s PC
Project in Thailand use FOSS to achieve low cost PCs in the $200--300 range.
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Trends in Europe
8.2 Trends in Europe

FOSS deployment among national and lo-
cal governments is highest in Europe, cen- Trends in Europe
tering in European Union member states.
European Union
National governments representing Germany, Promoting FOSS in aspects of lower cost and
interoperability
France, United Kingdom and Italy are ac- Germany

Entering the next stage of how to deploy FOSS from
tively deploying FOSS and have established the initial stage of why FOSS
policies to promote FOSS deployment. Case study: Munich Municipal Government

Migrating to 14,000 GNU/Linux PCs over 5 years
UK and France
UK: going deeply into FOSS
France: walking its own independent path regarding

FOSS
An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software Copyright © 2005,2006, Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 207
8.2.1 European Union

Since 2002, the European Commission has been implementing the eEurope initiative
to promote e--government in the EU. FOSS deployment is treated as a critical theme
of the eEurope initiative.
European Union
Main focus on reducing costs of e-government and

ensuring interoperability
FOSS ideal from standpoint of both cost and
interoperability
Promoting FOSS deployment

EC recommends governments deploy FOSS to reduce e-
government costs totaling 6.6 billion Euros (July 2002)
Launched portal site to encourage spread of FOSS

(December 2003)
Established COSPA to promote FOSS deployment (April

2004)
EUs IDA Programme recommends OpenOffice.org format

as standard office document format for data exchange
within government sector (May 2004)
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8.2.1.1 Cost Reduction

In July 2002, the European Commission issued a recommendation for shared de-
ployment of FOSS in the public sector. National governments were also encouraged
to reduce IT costs. In Europe, annual IT
costs for e--government had been climbing European Union (cont.)
every year and were estimated at 6.6 bil-
UNU-MERIT FOSS economic impact study (2006)
lion Euros by 2002, up 28% from the pre- Estimates value of FOSS at 12 billion Euro
Expects FOSS-related economy to account for 4% of
vious year. The main reason for the EC’s GDP in the EU
Identifies FOSS as area in which SMEs find good
focus on FOSS was to reduce IT costs. environment
Expects FOSS-related jobs to counter brain-drain

towards USA and to close IT gap between EU and USA
8.2.1.2 Ensuring Interoperability

However, cost considerations were not the only reason for the EC to recommend
FOSS. Due to the large number of countries in Europe, there is an acute need for
data exchange between national and local governments and within the public sector.
Interoperability between systems is essential to facilitating data exchange. In order
to achieve interoperability, file formats and communication protocols must be made
compliant with open standards. Since internal specifications for FOSS are fully
published, FOSS deployment was viewed as a way to promote the adoption of open
standards.
The eEurope 2005 Action Plan describes the following goal and approach to inter-
operability:
1. Interactive public services, accessible for all, and offered on multiple platforms.
2. It will be based on open standards to ensure interoperability, and encourage the

use of Free/Open--Source Software.
8.2.1.3 EU Initiatives to Promote Spread of FOSS

The EU launched a new portal site in December 2003 to encourage the spread of
FOSS. The portal site contains information about best practices for FOSS adoption
by the public sector. A monthly e--mail summary of Free/Open--Source Software
news is also distributed through the site.
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Trends in Europe
In addition, the EU is funding R&D projects such as the Consortium for Open Source
in the Public Administration (COSPA) and the FLOSSPOLS project. COSPA
conducts demonstration experiments for FOSS desktop deployment by the public
sector. FLOSSPOLS, which stands for Free/Libre/Open--Source Software: Policy
Support, conducts research into Free/Open--Source policy by the government sector.
In May 2004, the EU’s Interchange of Data between Administrations (IDA) Pro-
gramme issued a recommendation to the Organization for the Advancement of
Structured Information Standards, or OASIS. This recommendation calls for the
adoption of OpenOffice.org as the standard format for exchange of office documents
within the government sector.
The role of FOSS as economic factor in the EU has recently been studied under the
“Study on the Economic Impact of Open Source Software on Innovation and the
Competitiveness of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Sector
in the EU”. The study found FOSS to have a strong market penetration particularly
in the public sector Europe is found to be well ahead of the rest of the world.
The total value of all FOSS having some form of quality control is estimated at
around 12 billion Euro (almost 19 billion US$). The amount of code doubles every
18 to 24 months. The Debian project alone with its 220 millionen lines of code
(LOC) accounts for more than 130,000 man years of effort or 2.6 billion Euro (4
billion US$).
The study forcasts FOSS--related services to account for a third of all IT services
and around 4% of the EU’s GDP by 2010. The opportunies for small and medium
size enterprises are expected to counter the current brain--drain towards the US.
8.2.2 Germany
Germany is at the forefront of Free/Open--Source deployment even within Europe.
In Germany, debate today centers on the approach to deploying FOSS, having moved
beyond debate about whether FOSS is to
be adopted. Germany
The situation in Germany is driven by the
Germany at forefront of FOSS deployment
nation’s history as a fertile area for FOSS Debates focused today How to deploy FOSS
Case studies
development. Germany is the base of de- Federal Ministry of Interior signs comprehensive procurement
contract for IBM/SUSE Linux machines (June 2002)
velopment for SUSE Linux (now owned by Enables low cost procurement of GNU/Linux servers
Federal Ministry of Interior announces guidelines for FOSS

migration (July 2003)
Novell), the world’s second leading GNU/Linux Contains list of replacement software and precautions for FOSS
migration, for desktop through to server environments
distribution, as well as the KDE integrat- Actual FOSS migration increasing at local government level
Munich city decides to migrate 14,000 machines to GNU/Linux (May

2003)
ed desktop environment. OpenOffice.org, Schwäbisch Hall district migrates 400 machines to GNU/Linux
(2002-2004)
Audit office of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania completes
the leading challenger to MS Office, has migration to GNU/Linux (November 2004)

its roots in StarOffice. OpenOffice.org was

originally developed by a German compa-
ny before a buy--out by Sun Microsystems.
160
Somewhere around 2000, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior evaluated the
feasibility of deploying FOSS for administrative systems. These studies led to a
recommendation to use FOSS. The German government then entered into a com-
prehensive procurement agreement with IBM in June 2002, in an effort to promote
the use of GNU/Linux. Under the agreement, federal and regional governments can
purchase IBM PCs and servers equipped with SUSE Linux at a discounted price.
At the time, the German government cited the following reasons for entering into
the contract:
· Improve security: Security can be improved by avoiding a monoculture. Free/Open--

Source offers better resistance against threats such as crashes and viruses.
· Prevent dependency on a single vendor: Free/Open--Source can reduce depen-

dency on a single piece of software.
· Cut costs: Free/Open--Source can reduce costs.
The German Federal Ministry of the Interior created guidelines in July 2003 for
FOSS migration for the public sector. These guidelines are designed to enable IT
managers in the public sector to determine the economic and technical feasibility
of deploying FOSS. IT managers can choose to continue using existing commercial
software, or use commercial software and FOSS side--by--side. The third option is
to migrate fully to FOSS.
More than 500 institutions in the German government sector are reported to have
started FOSS deployment. The list of adopters includes the German Federal Anti--
Trust Office, Munich municipal government and Federal Ministry of the Interior. In
particular, actual FOSS migration is said to be increasing at the local government
level.
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Trends in Europe
8.2.3 Case Study: Munich Municipal Government

Munich is the third largest city in Germany. In May 2003, the city council of Mu-
nich made the decision to migrate all 14,000 of the city hall’s computers from Win-
dows to GNU/Linux. The news sent shock
waves around the world. It was unprece- Case Study: Munich Municipal
Government
dented for a city like Munich to undertake Munich city council decides to undertake GNU/Linux
an across--the--board migration from Win- migration for 14,000 PCs used by 16,000 users (May
2003)
dows to GNU/Linux, not just for servers Reasons
To reduce costs? (Not the biggest reason)

IBM/SUSE proposal: $39.5 million
but also for desktops PCs. Microsoft proposal: $36.6 million, later cut to $23.7 million
Avoid dependency on specific products
The decision to migrate to GNU/Linux was Promote market competition
Soft migration
directly prompted by the end of support Gradual migration overAug.-Dec.
Replace with Web-

5 years 2002
May 28, 2002
Jun. 2002 - Jun. 2004
client survey conducted
migration to OSS resolved at city council
detailed planning with IBM and SUSE
Jun. 16, 2004 authorized at city council
for Windows NT 4.0, which was widely based systems
Emulators also to be
Jun. 2004 -
Aug. 2004
Sep, 2004
Linux migration project ` LiMux' began
project stopped bacause of patent issue
project restarted
used initially
used by the Munich government. The cost (VMWare, etc.)
Jan. 2005 trial migration started
to replace the no longer supported systems

amounted to several tens of million Euros.
The Munich government began to study the feasibility of migrating to GNU/Linux
in 2002 as a way to reduce costs. The migration to GNU/Linux was also driven
by the municipal government’s efforts to switch its business systems to Web--based
systems.
However, the real reason for migrating to GNU/Linux was to avoid dependency on
specific products, as well as a desire to encourage healthy market competition. Like
Japan, the German software market was dominated by US software in everything
from operating systems to middleware and applications. The decision by the Munich
city council to migrate to GNU/Linux was designed to encourage the purchase of
German software through market competition. In terms of deployment costs, the
Microsoft proposal was actually lower at 36.6million, comparedwith39.5 million for
the joint IBM and SUSE Linux proposal.
8.2.4 Barriers to GNU/Linux Migration

After one year of study, the Munich government officially approved the LiMux
GNU/Linux migration project in June 2004. Migrating to GNU/Linux is not easy
to accomplish. The migration of business systems to Web--based systems involved
three hundred different types of client software used by the Munich government.
Migrating all of this software to GNU/Linux and Web--based systems is an enor-
mous task. Another problem is the lack of full compatibility between MS Office
documents used by the Munich government and OpenOffice.org.
After studying the situation, the Munich government decided on a gradual migra-
tion to take place over five years. Under the project, business systems are to be
replaced with Web--based systems as much as possible, so that they can be used
162
with GNU/Linux browsers. Initially, emulation software such as VMWare will be

used to enable Windows applications to run on GNU/Linux.
8.2.4.1 Project Temporarily Halted Due to Software Patent Issues

The Munich government suddenly announced in August 2004 that the LiMux project
had been put on hold due to concerns over software patent issues. The government
cited the need to study legal and financial risks, based on the possibility that the
European Parliament might pass legislation on software patents. Fortunately, the
LiMux project was restarted within one month, after the Munich government de-
cided that the risks were within an acceptable level.
8.2.4.2 Debian Deployment and Postponement to 2006

In May 2005, the Munich government made the decision to deploy Debian in favor
of commercial distributions, as a way to minimize vendor dependency. The decision
was probably influenced by the purchase of SUSE Linux by US firm Novell.
The Munich government later announced in September 2005 that it was postponing
its GNU/Linux migration plans by one year, rolling the start date forward to 2006.
The postponement was due to the need for additional trials to work out further
project details. This shows just how difficult it can be to implement an across--the--
board migration to GNU/Linux.
8.2.5 United Kingdom

The public sector in the United Kingdom is slightly more conservative in its stance
toward FOSS, compared with Germany and France. The Office of Government Com-
merce (OGC) issued the UK government’s
Open Source Software Policy in July 2002. United Kingdom
The OSS Policy, available as a document
UK: Leaning toward FOSS from neutral stance
entitled Open Source Software Use Within FOSS Policy recommends government procurement of
FOSS (July 2002)
UK Government, was later revised in 2004. Office of Government Commerce (OGC) decides to
deploy GNU/Linux for large-scale system (April 2003)
The following key decisions are described OGC issues report on FOSS trials (October 2004)
FOSS considered to be realistic desktop alternative
FOSS anticipated to reduce costs; no issues with
in the OSS Policy: interoperability
1. UK Government will consider FOSS so-

lutions alongside proprietary ones in IT
163
Trends in Europe
procurements. Contracts will be award-

ed on a value for money basis.
2. UK Government will only use products for interoperability that support open
standards and specifications in all future IT developments.
3. UK Government will seek to avoid lock--in to proprietary IT products and ser-

vices.
4. UK Government will consider obtaining full rights to bespoke software code

or customizations of COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) software it procures
wherever this achieves best value for money.
5. Publicly funded R&D projects which aim to produce software outputs shall spec-
ify a proposed software exploitation route at the start of the project. At the
completion of the project, the software shall be exploited either commercially or
within an academic community or as FOSS.
In April 2003, OGC announced plans to deploy GNU/Linux for a new online pro-
curement system to be used by all government departments. The online procurement
system represents the first--ever GNU/Linux deployment for a large--scale backbone
system used by the UK government. The procurement system has been online since
2004. OGC also assists FOSS deployment in other parts of the public sector, such
as helping Powys County Council to integrate OpenLDAP for authorization. Other
projects include the deployment of a FOSS--based document administration system
by the Central Scotland Police.
OGC conducted FOSS trials in 2004 that included desktops used by multiple central
government departments. Sun desktops running GNU/Linux were deployed and
evaluated as practical desktop alternatives. The trials led OGC to conclude that
cost reductions could be anticipated from FOSS deployment. OGC also determined
that there were no major issues in terms of interoperability with existing Windows
environments.
However, the UK government sector overall has not yet to undertake serious deploy-
ment of FOSS, despite taking the neutral stance of studying FOSS as one possible
alternative.
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8.2.6 France
France, like Germany, is strongly promoting FOSS. Legislation for preferential treat-
ment of FOSS in government procurement was considered as early as 2000, although
it was rejected. The term FOSS is not used
extensively in France. The French use the France
term Logiciel Libre, from the French word
France: Independent approach to FOSS
libre or freedom. The French is said to deployment

Ministry of Culture and Communications to conclude
reflect a strong national emphasis on free- across-the-board GNU/Linux migration in 2005
French government establishes ATICA (now ADEA) to
dom, which has some basis in truth. promote FOSS (July 2002)
Large-scale deployment of FOSS desktops studied as

part of ADELE strategic plan for electronic
The French government established the Agen- administration (February 2004)
Calls for GNU/Linux migration on 5-15% of desktops by
cy for Information and Communication Tech- 2007
Defense Ministry signs 3-year, 7 million Euro contract

with consortium of Mandrakesoft and other companies
nologies in Administration (ATICA) in 2002. to gain CC-EAL5 certification (September 2004)
ATICA was created to encourage the adop- An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software

tion of Free Software and open standards.

The organization has since been renamed
the Agency for the Development of the Electronic Administration or ADEA.
FOSS already has a strong track record for government server deployment in France.
The French Treasury Department runs 500 GNU/Linux servers, while the Taxation
Agency operates another 200 GNU/Linux servers. GNU/Linux servers are also
deployed by the Foreign Ministry and Ministry of Agriculture. The Ministry for In-
frastructure plans to migrate 1,500 Windows NT servers to GNU/Linux, accounting
for three--quarters of all Windows NT servers used at 160 offices throughout France.
The project has attracted attention as it represents the efforts of a single public sec-
tor institution to migrate the majority of its machines to GNU/Linux. The Ministry
of Culture and Communications is in the midst of an across--the--board GNU/Linux
migration project that is scheduled to finish in 2005.
The French government is also examining the large--scale deployment of FOSS desk-
tops as part of its ADELE strategic plan for electronic administration through 2007.
The proposal sets a target of migrating 5--15% of desktops to GNU/Linux by 2007.
The reasons for migrating to GNU/Linux are to improve interoperability between
different systems and reduce life cycle costs through vendor competition.
The French Defense Ministry signed a seven million Euro contract with Mandrake-
soft, Inc., now Mandriva, in September 2004. The 3--year project, which is already
underway, aims to gain security certification at Evaluation Assurance Level 5 of
the Common Criteria (CC--EAL5). The ambitious plan to achieve OS certifica-
tion at CC--EAL5 level exceeds the current highest CC--EAL4 level certification for
commercial GNU/Linux and other GNU/Linux.
165
8.3 Trends in the United States

The US government has historically spon-
sored many aspects of FOSS R&D through Trends in the United States
institutions such as the National Science
US government
Foundation (NSF) and the Defense Ad- Although US Federal government has No Policy,
actual FOSS adoption are increasing
vanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). State governments

FOSS deployment is gaining momentum
These institutions have made significant Case Study: State of Massachusetts
contributions to FOSS. The Free Software The policy stated that new application should adhere
to open standard and FOSS
movement that led to FOSS was started They have FOSS-based application to be developed
under the new policy
Released in the repository, GOCC (Government Open
by Richard Stallman when he was at MIT. Code Collaborative)
Much of GNU software that resulted from An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software

the Free Software movement was developed

in the United States. However, the US
government has not yet to adopt any strategies that specifically promote FOSS
at the federal level, even though its actual FOSS deployment is increasing.
Some state governments have begun taking an active approach to FOSS deployment.
Chief among these is the State of Massachusetts, which has announced a policy
to adopt open standards and FOSS. A project has also been launched to release
software developed by state governments as FOSS, for sharing with other state
governments.
8.3.1 Federal Government
8.3.1.1 US Federal Government’s “No Policy” Stance

The US federal government has taken a “no policy” stance toward FOSS, leav-
ing the choice to free competition in the marketplace. FOSS deployment has not
made any significant strides in federal gov-
ernment procurement, since it is not yet US Government
eligible to freely compete with other prod-
No policy stance by US federal government:
ucts. Procurement eligibility is dependent Strong opposition by leading IT vendors
on being included in government procure- Actual FOSS deployment by US federal government

is increasing
ment lists. Unlike commercial products, FOSS already deployed by 250 government sector institutions
(May 2002)
Government reports recommend FOSS deployment
there has been no active effort to get FOSS PITAC recommends FOSS for supercomputers (September 2000);
MITRE recommends FOSS for Defense Department (October
2002)
products listed for federal procurement. How- FOSS inclusion in government procurement
standards
ever, the real reason for this situation is Defense Department issues memo containing guidelines for
FOSS acquisition (June 2003)
CC-EAL3 certification acquired for IBM/SUSE platform (January

2004) Copyright © 2005,2006, Center of the International Cooperation for Computerization (CICC) All Rights Reserved.
166
due to strong opposition to any FOSS pref-

erential treatment by the mighty US soft-
ware industry, which is the most powerful
of its kind anywhere.
8.3.1.2 Actual FOSS Adoption Increasing

Actual deployment of Free/Open--Source systems is increasing due to the push be-
hind GNU/Linux systems by IBM and HP. According to a MITRE Corporation
study commissioned by the US Department of Defense, Free/Open--Source systems
were in use at 249 government sector institutions by May 2002. MITRE is a non--
profit organization primarily funded by the Defense Department. The study found
that institutions such as the US Air Force, Marine Corps, and Naval Observato-
ry were using Free/Open--Source systems. IBM and HP also announced in May
2002 that they had sold systems to various branches of the US government. The
list of customers includes the US Air Force, Defense Department, Department of
Agriculture, Department of Energy and Federal Aviation Administration.
A number of government reports have also been issued that recommend the use of
FOSS. One such recommendation came from the President’s Information Technolo-
gy Advisory Committee (PITAC), in a September 2000 report entitled Developing
Open Source Software to Advance High End Computing. MITRE reports published
in July 2001 and October 2002 described FOSS as having a critical role within the
Department of Defense, to a greater degree than generally acknowledged. MITRE
noted that FOSS was critical to four areas in particular, consisting of infrastructure
support, software development, security and research. In addition to its low cost
compared with proprietary software, FOSS was described as frequently having ex-
cellent features. It was also noted that removal of FOSS would lead to the loss of a
critical source of competition in terms of both quality and cost. The use of closed
source vendors was also linked to massive support costs and lock--in of users.
8.3.1.3 Start of FOSS Inclusion in Government Procurement Stan-

dards
The George Washington University’s Cyber Security Policy Research Institute (CSPRI)
is leading a project designed to acquire ISO 15408 certification for GNU/Linux. The
project was launched in 2003. ISO 15408, also known as the Common Criteria for
Information Technology Security Evaluations, is used in 20 countries including the
United States. Certification at CC--EAL3 level was acquired for SUSE Linux En-
terprise Server 8 running on an IBM xSeries machine in January 2004. The project
167
later announced in February 2005 that it would seek to acquire CC--EAL4+, which
is the highest level of certification available for software products.
These efforts were successful in motivating the Department of Defense to issue a
memo in June 2003 detailing guidelines for FOSS acquisition. The development
enables FOSS to compete on the same footing with commercial software for the first
time in government sector procurement.
8.3.2 State Governments

Legislation related to government procurement of FOSS has not been debated at
the federal level, although it has been studied numerous times at the state lev-
el. Radical legislation for mandatory state
procurement of FOSS systems has been State Governments
proposed in the California and Oklahoma
Movement to deploy FOSS among some state
state legislatures but were quickly reject- governments

Oregon, Texas, Hawaii and other states have proposed bills for
ed. Legislation that would have simply FOSS deployment, which were rejected or shelved
State of Massachusetts introduces preferential policy toward

FOSS (September 2003)
required equal treatment of FOSS along- Policy later toned down to consider all possible alternatives
proprietary, open source, and public sector code sharing
side commercial software was introduced in determining best value solutions (January 2004)
Austin City implements GNU/Linux and OpenOffice.org trials

(December 2003)
in 2003 in Oregon and Texas. However, Start of collaborative project to develop FOSS for e-
government, led by Massachusetts State (June 2004)
these proposals were met with strong op- The Government Open Code Collaborative
California Performance Review Commission recommends

increase in FOSS deployment by California state government
position by commercial vendors and were (August 2004)

either rejected or placed on hold.

In the United States, it is considered to
be extremely difficult to pass legislation that gives even the slightest preferential
treatment to FOSS. The situation contrasts considerably with that of Europe, which
has already progressed to debate over the approach to FOSS implementation.
However, FOSS deployment is gaining momentum with the deployment of GNU/Linux
servers by many state governments. In terms of desktops, the City of Austin imple-
mented trials for GNU/Linux and OpenOffice.org deployment in late 2003.
A major development occurred in September 2003 when the State of Massachusetts
announced that it was implementing a policy that favors FOSS procurement. How-
ever, the state toned down this policy within a matter of months. The revised pol-
icy now recommends consideration for “all possible alternatives - proprietary, open
source, and public sector code sharing - in determining best value solutions.” Despite
toning down its policy, the State of Massachusetts is moving forward with actual
large--scale deployment of FOSS.
168
8.3.3 Case Study: State of Massachusetts

In 2003, the State of Massachusetts formed a voluntary IT committee comprised of
25 representatives from various state agencies and private sector companies. The
move came in response to a drop in state
tax revenues after the collapse of the Inter- Case Study: State of Massachusetts
net bubble. The difficulty of maintaining

Virtual Law Office
the state’s many legacy systems was also Cost-cutting move necessitated by financial difficulties due to drop
in state tax revenues
a factor. The IT committee later evolved CIO meeting proposes policy to deploy open standards and
Free/Open-Source
Migration of legacy systems to GNU/Linux platform
into a Massachusetts CIO “Kitchen Cabi- SUSE Linux running in virtual machine on mainframe
Red Hat Linux Advanced Server running on IA server
net” made up of CIOs from state agencies, GOCC (Government Open Code Collaborative)
Launched in December 2003
which met to prioritize issues faced by the Framework for sharing source code with other state governments
Reduce costs by sharing code with other states
Enables continued collaborative development through
state. community effort
MIT and Harvard provide technical and legal support
At a CIO meeting in September 2003, an 11 state agencies involved, from eight states

important decision was made to implement

a comprehensive policy for future IT in-
vestment and operating expenditures. The policy stated that new applications
should adhere to open standards and Free/Open--Source. Meanwhile, existing ap-
plications were to be evaluated for encapsulation or migration to open standards
and Free/Open--Source. It is important to note that the State of Massachusetts
policy originated from within the state government. This makes it distinct from
Free/Open--Source legislation proposed in other state legislatures.
The first FOSS--based application to be developed under the new policy was the
Java--based Virtual Law Office. The system uses SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8
running in a virtual machine on a mainframe. The other part of the system uses
Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 2.1 running on an IBM xSeries IA server.
Based on its own experience with FOSS--based development, the State of Mas-
sachusetts recognized the need for a framework to share source code with other state
governments. After studying the issue, Massachusetts prepared a legal framework
for handling copyright issues related to the sharing of source code. The state then
launched the Government Open Code Collaborative (GOCC) in December 2003 as
a repository for FOSS code. Currently, eleven state agencies are part of the GOCC
repository. These agencies represent the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Mis-
souri, Pennsylvania, Utah, Kansas, Virginia and West Virginia. MIT and Harvard
University also participate in the project by providing technical and legal support.
169
Trends in Asia
8.4 Trends in Asia

This section examines trends in Asia by first examining the situation in Northeast
Asia. Three countries outside of Japan are examined, focusing on China, South
Korea and Taiwan. Later sections exam-
ine the situation in Southeast Asia with a Trends in Asia
focus on Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and
East Asia
the Philippines. The first Asia OSS Sym- China, Taiwan and Koria
Northeast Asia FOSS Promotion Forum: cooperation
posium was held in 2003 to promote FOSS between Japan, China and Korea
Southeast Asia
in Asia and is now held every six months Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam
Asia FOSS Symposium: held twice a year
as a regular event.
8.4.1 East Asia: China, Taiwan and South Korea

Interest in FOSS by the Chinese government is thought to have initially been driv-
en by a strong interest in FOSS deployment for national defense. The Chinese
government actively supports the promo-
tion of FOSS as a platform for software East Asia:
China, Taiwan and South Korea
development that is not bound to US and China
European companies. National GNU/Linux strategy
Government-led development of Chinese versions of
China is pursuing a national GNU/Linux GNU/Linux
Red Flag Linux, Yangfan Linux, Qihang Linux
Focus on human resources development

strategy through the development of Chi- GNU/Linux 1+1+1 Project
nese versions of GNU/Linux such as Red Taiwan

Many initiatives to promote FOSS
Flag Linux, Yangfan Linux and Qihang Lin- Hosts many FOSS international conferences
South Korea
ux. Red Flag Linux has matured into a Flood of GNU/Linux distributors and ongoing market
realignment
distribution. The distribution is based on South Korean government rapidly deploying FOSS
Asianux OS, which was developed through

the collaboration of Japanese, Chinese and
South Korean firms. China is also focusing on human resources development. The
Linux “1+1+1” Project, led by the Beĳing Association for Science and Technology,
was launched in 2003. The project aims to train 10,000 users, 1,000 GNU/Linux
engineers and 100 GNU/Linux instructors by 2006.
The Taiwanese government is also actively promoting FOSS. Government funds are
being used to develop GNU/Linux and FOSS programs. The country has also hosted
many FOSS events and international conferences.
The GNU/Linux market in South Korea has observed a realignment. The market
was once flooded with GNU/Linux distributions, but competition has weeded out
170
most of these distributions today. The South Korean government is actively intro-
ducing policies for FOSS deployment, such as mandatory consideration for FOSS in
government procurement.
8.4.2 Northeast Asia OSS Promotion Forum

The Northeast Asia OSS Promotion Forum is an international collaborative project
between Japan, China and South Korea. The first Forum was hosted by Beĳing in
April 2004. This was followed by a second
event in Sapporo in July 2004 and a third Northeast Asia FOSS Promotion Forum
Forum in Seoul in December 2004. The International collaborative project by Japan, China and
Forum has established three joint work- South Korea

1st Forum: Beijing, China (April 2004)
2nd Forum: Sapporo, Japan (July 2004)
ing groups focusing on the following ar- 3rd Forum: Seoul, Korea (December 2004)
Established joint working groups that engage in
eas: Technology Development & Assess- activities

Technology Development & Assessment (WG1), Human
ment (WG1), Human Resource Develop- Resource Development (WG2) and Study on Standardization &
Certification (WG3)
Supporting organizations formed in each country

ment (WG2) and Study on Standardiza- Japan FOSS Promotion Forum created in Japan
Secretariat: Information-Technology Promotion Agency, Japan
tion & Certification (WG3). Each working (IPA)
METI, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), and

Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA)
group meets regularly to discuss interna- involved as observers

tional developments in each subject area.

Supporting organizations have been formed
in each country to support the activities of the joint working groups. The Japan
OSS Promotion Forum has been established to serve this role in Japan. The Infor-
mation--Technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA) is the secretariat of the Japan
OSS Promotion Forum, which is comprised of major vendors, system integrators
and GNU/Linux distributors. Also involved in the Japan OSS Promotion Forum as
observers are METI, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC)
and the Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association (JISA).
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Trends in Asia
8.4.3 Southeast Asia: Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam

This section examines the situation in Southeast Asia by focusing on Thailand,
Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam.
Southeast Asia:
Thailand and Malaysia
Thailand
Leading FOSS nation in Southeast Asia
National Electronics and Computer Technology Center

(NECTEC): Core organization for promoting FOSS
Sales of 100,000 GNU/Linux PCs through ICT PC Project

(now called Peoples PC Project)
Development of GNU/Linux Thai Language Extension (TLE),

etc.
Malaysia
Promoting FOSS through national government and
various government organizations
MIMOS (The Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic System)
Established the Asian Open Source Center (ASIAOSC)
MAMPU (Malaysian Administrative Modernization and

Management Planning Unit)
Announced Public Sector Open Source Master Plan (July 2004)

8.4.3.1 Thailand
Thailand had a relatively early start in promoting FOSS, compared to other na-
tions in Southeast Asia. The National Electronics and Computer Technology Cen-
ter (NECTEC) is the core national government institution that promotes FOSS.
NECTEC implements projects to develop Thai language support for GNU/Linux
and OpenOffice.org such as Linux Thai Language Extension (TLE). NECTEC is al-
so involved in a wide range of initiatives designed to encourage the spread of FOSS.
These activities include national symposiums and international collaboration with
neighboring countries.
The Thai government announced the ICT PC Project in April 2003. The project
was designed to accelerate IT advancement in Thailand through sales of low cost
PCs preinstalled with GNU/Linux. The initiative, which is now called the People’s
PC Project, has succeeded in propagating the spread of PCs through sales of 100,000
machines. The program has also had a major impact in terms of driving down the
cost of hardware and related software in Thailand.
8.4.3.2 Malaysia
Malaysia is also active in implementing government policies to promote FOSS, cen-
tering on the national government and various government organizations. Lead-
ing organizations that promote FOSS include the Malaysian Institute of Microelec-
tronic Systems (MIMOS). MIMOS has established the Asian Open Source Center
(ASIAOSC). Also prominent in promoting FOSS is the Malaysian Administrative
Modernization and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU). MAMPU announced a
172
Public Sector Open Source Master Plan in July 2004. The Master Plan led to the
establishment of the Open Source Competency Centre (OSCC), which promotes the
spread of FOSS in the public sector.
8.4.3.3 Philippines
Rampant software piracy is a problem in Southeast Asia. FOSS is viewed as an
ideal solution to software piracy, since the notion of illegal copying does not ex-
ist under FOSS. The anti--piracy aspect of
FOSS is one of the driving factors behind Southeast Asia:
Philippines and Vietnam
the promotion of FOSS in Southeast Asia
Philippines
nations. In the Philippines, the national Anti-piracy a driving factor for promoting FOSS
Rampant software piracy (reportedly over 60% of all
government encourages FOSS deployment software)
FOSS promoted as part of e-Philippine program
as part of the e--Philippine program. Vietnam

Rapid acceleration in FOSS promotion, sparked by Asia
FOSS Symposium
Approved master plan: Applying and Developing Open

Source Software in Vietnam for the 2004-2008 Period
(March 2004)
FOSS training courses
Conferences on FOSS migration, etc.
8.4.3.4 Vietnam
The Vietnamese government showed little interest in FOSS around the time of the
first Asia OSS Symposium in 2003. Initiatives to promote FOSS in Vietnam have
rapidly accelerated since that time, sparked by the hosting of the 3rd Asia OSS
Symposium in Hanoi in March 2004.
Just prior to the 3rd Asia OSS Symposium, the Vietnamese government approved a
FOSS master plan called Applying and Developing Open Source Software in Viet-
nam for the 2004--2008 Period. Vietnam is currently implementing various initia-
tives under the master plan. These initiatives include FOSS training courses and
conferences on FOSS migration.
173
Trends in National and Local Japanese Government
8.4.4 Asia Open Source Software Symposium

The Asia Open Source Software Symposium is held every six months under the
sponsorship of the Center of International Cooperation for Computerization (CICC),
Japan. The event is also supported by or-
ganizations in each host nation. The first Asia Open Source Software
Symposium
Symposium was held in Thailand in March
Jointly sponsored by Center of International
2003. Six events have been held since then Cooperation for Computerization (CICC), Japan and
organizations in host nations
in Singapore, Hanoi, Taipei, Beĳing and History

First Symposium: Phuket, Thailand (March 2003)
Colombo. 2nd Symposium:
3rd Symposium:
Singapore (November 2003)
Hanoi, Vietnam (March 2004)
4th Symposium: Taipei, Taiwan (September 2004)
At the Symposium, participating nations 5th Symposium:
6th Symposium:
Beijing, China (March 2005)
Colombo, SriLanka (September 2005)
gather to exchange information about ini- Features of Asia FOSS Symposium

Impact on host nation
tiatives related to FOSS promotion. Pre- Discuss topics related to FOSS

Share information about status of FOSS promotion in each region
sentations are given by various FOSS--re- Cooperate on FOSS promotion in Asia

lated experts and key local officials. Roundtable

sessions feature discussions about FOSS top-
ics, such as collaborative approaches to promoting FOSS in Asia. The Symposium
has also served as a major catalyst in host nations and surrounding countries, as
was the case in Vietnam.
8.5 Trends in National and Local Japanese Government

In Japan, policies to promote FOSS are implemented by various branches of gov-
ernment, based on their respective government roles. METI and MIC are partic-
ularly active in promoting FOSS. METI
takes charge of policies to promote indus- Trends in National and Local Japanese
Government
try, while MIC promotes e--government at FOSS Policies by Ministry of Economy, Trade and
national and local levels. FOSS policies Industry
Survey on FOSS usage and FOSS deployment guidelines
are also implemented through various or- FOSS feasibility trials
IPA sponsorship of FOSS development by private sector
ganizations related to METI and MIC. This FOSS policies in e-government by Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communication (MIC)
section also describes the trend in FOSS Study group concerning Secure OS
Collaborative Outsourcing / e-Municipality Promotion
deployment among local governments in Strategy
Trends in FOSS deployment at local government level
Japan, from the perspective of providing Part of regional development policy
Avoidance of vendor lock-in and emphasis on cost
e--municipality for local residents. Case studies: FOSS procurement by local governments
Case study: Nagasaki prefecture and Hokkaido

government
174
8.5.1 FOSS Policies by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

METI, which takes charge of policies to promote industry, is introducing government
policies to foster and improve the global competitiveness of the Japanese software in-
dustry and IT services industry. There are
three driving factors behind these strate- FOSS Policies by Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry
gies: Policies to promote Japanese IT service industry and software
industry
Current massive trade deficit in software
1. The current massive trade deficit in soft- Loss of technical capabilities from erosion of Japanese
infrastructure software
ware. Shortage of human resources development for Japanese

engineers, due to drastic increase of FOSS market
FOSS usage survey and guidelines for studying FOSS

deployment
2. The loss of technical capabilities from Wide overview of major FOSS, FOSS licensing and business
models using FOSS
IPAs Infrastructure Building Program for Open Source Software
the erosion of Japanese infrastructure Funds development related to perceived areas of FOSS weakness
Enterprise technologies
software. Embedded field
Desktops
Issues unique to Japanese language (fonts, printing, character encoding)

3. The shortage of human resources devel-

opment for Japanese engineers, due to offshore development.
8.5.1.1 Current Massive Trade Deficit in Software

The majority of both enterprise and consumer software used in Japan consists of
localized versions of overseas software with Japanese language support. Only a small
percentage of software is independently developed and sold in Japan. Except for
software used in consumer gaming consoles, very little software of Japanese origin
is used outside of Japan.
According to a survey conducted in 2000, Japan imported 919 billion yen in software,
compared with software exports of 9 billion yen. Imports of basic software such as
libraries and middleware came to 335 billion yen from the US alone. The massive
trade deficit in software is expected to have widened at present, along with the
Japanese software market expansion.
These circumstances make it difficult to achieve a significant increase in the volume
of software exports by fostering the Japanese software industry. A more immediate
solution is to reduce foreign software imports into Japan. FOSS deployment is
viewed as a way to restrict opportunities for using foreign software, in an effort to
drive down the total value of software imports.
8.5.1.2 Loss of Technical Capabilities from Erosion of Japanese In-

frastructure Software
Infrastructure software refers to operating systems and middleware such as databas-
es and libraries. Infrastructure software accounts for one--third of the value of all
175
software imports into Japan. The majority of the Japanese market for infrastruc-
ture software consists of foreign software. Infrastructure software is essential to
running application software. It also functions as the building blocks for IT. Ex-
cessive dependency on foreign infrastructure software inevitably leads to a loss of
technical capabilities. However, independent development of operating systems and
middleware is risky and requires a significant investment. Consequently, commit-
ment to FOSS development can be viewed as a way to maintain Japan’s technical
capabilities.
8.5.1.3 Shortage of Human Resources Development for Japanese En-

gineers Due to Drastic Increase of FOSS Market
GNU/Linux market in Japan has drastically expanded in the past several years.
Development site requires FOSS engineers, even if they are the latest graduate from
the university or technical colleges. The situation has led to concerns about the
lack of opportunities to train engineers and the shortage of skilled engineers. The
viewable source code of FOSS makes it an excellent source of material for training
engineers at higher education institutions and at enterprises.
8.5.1.4 Survey on FOSS Usage and FOSS Deployment Guidelines

Japanese software development vendors, system integrators and user enterprises have
various concerns and reservations about deploying FOSS. METI has responded by
publishing guidelines for studying FOSS deployment in August 2003. Written by a
committee of experts, the guidelines provide a wide overview of FOSS deployment.
Subjects covered include major FOSS, FOSS licensing and business models using
FOSS.
8.5.1.5 FOSS Feasibility Trials

In addition to publishing FOSS deployment guidelines, METI conducts FOSS trials
to examine issues that arise from actual FOSS deployment. Since FOSS server
deployment has rapidly escalated in even the public sector, METI has launched
trials to study the feasibility of FOSS desktops.
In 2004, METI conducted IT education at public schools using FOSS desktops (see
Section 8.7.4). METI has also announced plans to conduct FOSS deployment
trials in 2005 for ordinary terminals used by local government employees.
The trials conducted by METI make it increasingly clear that widespread use of
proprietary document formats from vendors is a barrier to FOSS deployment. A
176
further barrier is the widespread use of proprietary vendor formats that extend
HTML and other standardized specifications.
8.5.1.6 IPA Sponsorship of Private Sector FOSS Development

The Information--Technology Promotion Agency, Japan (IPA) funds FOSS devel-
opment by private sector firms. The funding focused on perceived areas of general
weakness for FOSS deployment in Japan and is provided under the IPAs Infras-
tructure Building Program for Open Source Software. IPA--sponsored development
projects include crash analysis tools that are essential for building large--scale back-
bone systems. Other projects include development of improved clustering technology
and a development environment for embedded software. IPA also sponsors the de-
velopment of printing technology needed for FOSS desktop environments and has
purchased essential Japanese fonts for FOSS desktop use.
8.5.2 FOSS Policies in E--Government by Ministry of Internal Affairs

and Communications (MIC)
MIC, which promotes e--government at national and local levels, is introducing FOSS
policies that emphasize security and cost reduction.
FOSS Policies in E-Government by Ministry

of Internal Affairs and Communications
Study Group Concerning Secure OS
Report examining security requirements for procurement of FOSS

operating systems by e-government
Procurement of specified operating systems is inadequate;

procurement should be decided based on overall assessment of functions and
quality
FOSS comparable to commercial software for functionality and performance
Precautions for government procurement of FOSS operating

systems
Vital to include support contract
Additional software may be required if higher level of security is needed
Collaborative outsourcing strategy to promote e-municipality
Collaborative development of common systems for e-municipalities

Systems for online application and filing, accounting, payroll, etc.
Employs FOSS-like development method

Several prefectures enlisted to develop different e-municipality functions
Source code released without charge; local governments free to modify or use
software
8.5.2.1 Study Group Concerning Secure OS

In 2004, MIC issued a report examining the security requirements of FOSS oper-
ating systems for e--government at national and local levels. The report concludes
that FOSS is comparable to commercial software in terms of functionality and per-
formance. The report further recommends that procurement of specified operating
systems is “inadequate”. These recommendations suggest that procurement should
be decided based on an overall assessment of functions and quality. Inclusion of a
177
support contract is stressed as being vital to procurement of FOSS. The report also
notes that additional software may be required if a higher level of security is needed,
when FOSS alone may be inadequate.
8.5.2.2 Collaborative Outsourcing/e--Municipality Promotion Strate-

gy
There are 2,200 local governments across Japan. Many of these municipalities per-
form the same tasks regardless of the size of government. Independent systems
development by each municipality entails multiple investments and is in many ways
wasteful. In response, MIC is implementing a program for collaborative systems
development by local governments as a way to reduce the overall cost of e--munici-
pality development. Systems development concentrates on e--municipality functions
such as online application and filing, as well as accounting and payroll.
Under the program, MIC has enlisted several prefectures to develop different e--
municipality functions. The software is then field--tested at the municipal level.
Development is based on commercial software due to the need for rapid development
and due to limited funds. However, the source code for newly developed software
is released without charge, enabling local governments to freely modify or use the
software. The collaborative outsourcing project can be described as using a FOSS--
like development method.
8.5.3 Trends in FOSS Deployment at Local Government Level
8.5.3.1 FOSS Deployment for E--Municipality Platforms

In addition to MIC’s collaborative outsourcing program, many e--municipalities are
developing Web systems using Java. Java applications and Java--based Web sys-
tems are not dependent on a specific OS,
so it is relatively easy to deploy FOSS-- Trends in FOSS Deployment by Local
Governments
based platforms on these systems. FOSS
FOSS deployment for e-municipality platforms
is widely deployed by municipalities such FOSS operating environments using Java application packages
Urayasu City
as Urayasu City, where there is an empha- Portal sites for local residents
Yamanashi, Kagawa, Okinawa Prefectures, etc.
sis on cost reduction. Release of software developed under MICs collaborative

outsourcing project
Hokkaido, Shizuoka Prefecture
FOSS is also used extensively for Web-- Deployment for internal systems
FOSS servers widely deployed as Web servers, mail servers, etc.
based portal sites aimed at local residents FOSS deployment for desktops
Sumoto City
and tourists. Prefectures such as Yamanashi, GNU/Linux servers deployed as gateways to local government WANs
Deployed by 800 local governments
178
Kagawa and Okinawa deploy FOSS con-

tents management systems to improve qual-
ity and reduce the workload of government
staffs.
Although MIC’s collaborative outsourcing program is largely based on commercial
software, FOSS development environments are being used to keep costs down. Active
deployment of FOSS is increasing at the prefectural level, led by certain prefectures
such as Hokkaido and Shizuoka.
8.5.3.2 FOSS Deployment for Internal Systems

FOSS servers and GNU/Linux systems in particular are widely deployed by local
governments as Web servers and mail servers. More than 800 local governments in
Japan deploy GNU/Linux servers as gateways to connect local government WANs
and internal systems. This number represents one--third of all municipalities in
Japan.
Sumoto City is deploying GNU/Linux and OpenOffice.org on desktops used by its
employees, ahead of FOSS trials conducted by METI. However, the program is still
in its trial phases and does not involve an across--the--board migration of existing
systems.
8.5.4 Reasons for FOSS Deployment by Local Governments

This section examines the reasons for FOSS deployment by Japanese local govern-
ments. To answer this question, it is necessary to examine how local governments
implement systems procurement and un-
derstand the issues faced by local IT firms. Reasons for FOSS Deployment by
Local Governments
Systems procurement by local governments Systems procurement by local governments and issues for
suffers from a lack of skills on the pro- local IT firms

Ever-increasing concentration on centralized vendors due to too much
emphasis on established suppliers
curement side. Consequently, there is too FOSS deployment expected to enable participation in systems procurement by
small- and medium-sized local vendors that lack technology for specific
products, leading to promotion of local industry
much emphasis on established suppliers lead- Tendency to emphasize established suppliers, due to difficulty of separating
systems design, development and operations
Difficulty in judging costs
ing to an ever--increasing concentration on Regular rotation of IT systems personnel a problem
Regular personnel transfers leads to lack of specialized IT knowledge
centralized major vendors. Due to the in- Switch to long-term assignments for personnel with highly specialized
knowledge
Implement resident services and practice information
creasing complexity of systems, it is diffi- disclosure

Deploy systems according to needs of each situation, without being
limited to existing systems
cult for local governments to separate the Transparency of deployment process ensured

phases of design, development and oper-

ations. Local governments also find it a
challenge to evaluate the contents of public bids based on functionality and per-
formance. The situation is further complicated by the selective use of black box
modules in system building. Local governments also encounter difficulties judging
179
Systems Procurement by Local Government and Issues for Local IT Firms
quotations for development man--hours and costs. The end result is that local gov-
ernments tend to emphasize established suppliers and give priority to major vendors
during procurement.
FOSS is viewed as offering a way to solve the above issues faced by local governments.
FOSS deployment is expected to enable small-- and medium--sized local vendors to
participate in systems procurement, which serves to promote local industry. Local
vendors can participate in systems building even if they do not possess technology
for specified software sold by major vendors.
Local government procurement is hampered by an inability to evaluate the contents
of bids based on functionality and performance. A further problem is the inability
of the procurement side to estimate man--hours and costs. These problems are
caused by the personnel policies of local governments. IT systems personnel are
regularly rotated to new positions, which tends to result in a lack of specialized
knowledge among IT systems personnel. To address this issue, local governments
must switch to long--term assignments for employees that possess highly specialized
IT knowledge.
FOSS deployment is also useful to local governments from the standpoint of imple-
menting resident services and practicing information disclosure. The open nature
of FOSS enables bottom--up deployment of systems according to the needs of each
situation, without being limited to existing systems. Using FOSS also ensures trans-
parency in the deployment process.
8.6 Systems Procurement by Local Government and Issues for Local

IT Firms
This section further explores the subject of systems procurement by local government
and issues faced by local IT firms. Systems procurement by local governments should
ideally be implemented through the close
collaboration of local government support- Systems Procurement by Local Government
and Issues for Local IT Firms
ed by local IT firms. In reality, a vicious Situation for local governments (LGs)
Created by MRI based on
circle prevents systems procurement from LGs may limit bidding to established suppliers
Specifications for a public tender are left up to vendors
Blanket contracts that cover from defining
materials of Nagasaki Prefecture
requirements to systems operations
achieving this ideal. Additional development is automatically awarded to the same

vendor
Prevent LGs from directly awarding contracts to local IT vendors
Local governments tend to be dependent LGs are forced to accept expensive systems that suit the needs
of vendors
Situation for local IT firms

on major vendors based in urban centers. Local IT firms are subcontractors to major vendors
The subcontractor role tends to prevent local IT firms from
Complete dependency on major vendors is

developing the skill set needed for project management
Venture firms are not even qualified to participate in bidding
Vicious circle Subcontractors tend to be difficult to keep resources to learn
new technology
widespread among local governments due Tiered subcontractor structure is accelerating

due to the shortcomings of local IT vendors
The issue is compounded by the growing scale and
to a number of factors. For example, local the increasing use of shared e-municipality systems

governments may limit bidding to estab-

lished suppliers. Sometimes, specifications
for a public tender are left up to vendors to write, even though it should be the
180
responsibility of the procurement side. Local governments may issue vague specifi-
cations that tend to result in blanket contracts that cover everything from defining
requirements through to systems operations. This leads to a situation where ad-
ditional development is automatically awarded to the same vendor. All of these
factors prevent local governments from directly awarding contracts to local IT ven-
dors. Instead, local governments are forced to accept expensive systems that suit
the needs of vendors.
Under these circumstances, local IT firms are forced to participate in government
projects as subcontractors to major vendors. The subcontractor role tends to pre-
vent local IT firms from developing the skill set needed for project management.
Skills for project management involve everything from drafting proposals to per-
forming quality control and executing tasks. Venture firms are not even qualified to
participate in bidding due to the requirement for established suppliers. IT subcon-
tractors at the bottom of the tiered subcontractor structure tend to find it difficult
to keep resources to learn new technology.
The trend toward a tiered subcontractor structure with major vendors at the top
is accelerating due to the shortcomings of local IT vendors. These firms lack not
just experience but also technology and resources. The issue is compounded by the
growing scale of e--municipality systems and the increasing use of shared modules
for e--municipality.
Several prefectures in Japan are deploying FOSS in an attempt to break out of this
vicious cycle. These initiatives are aimed at achieving an ideal situation in which
municipalities are supported by local IT firms. Nagasaki Prefecture and Hokkaido
are implementing unique and ground--breaking initiatives not found elsewhere in
Japan. Their examples provide insight into how FOSS can be effectively utilized by
local governments.
181
Systems Procurement by Local Government and Issues for Local IT Firms
8.6.1 Case Study: Nagasaki Prefecture

Nagasaki Prefecture has hired a CIO from the private sector who has guided the
introduction of a new procurement system for the prefectural government. The
system has been in place since 2002. Like
other prefectures, Nagasaki Prefecture had Case Study: Nagasaki Prefecture
previously employed the practice of ten- Systems Procurement by Nagasaki Prefecture
Created by MRI based on
materials of Nagasaki Prefecture
Bidding & Order Local firms (2*N)
dering bids for large--scale systems based Prefecture staff
Development Spec.
(Requirements, Basic design)
Divide into
bidding unit (N) A system
Development Spec.
Development
Test Spec.
on vague specifications. This meant that

System development is separated by function
Specification requires the use of FOSS B system
Development Spec.
Testing
Development
Bidding & Test Spec.
the prefectural government was unable to Local firms Order
C system
Testing
Development
Test Specification Development Spec.
build its own expertise, which led to de- Test Spec. Testing
Benefits of Using Detailed Specifications Separated by Function

pendency on specific vendors. This de- Tasks are narrowly defined, enabling local firms to participate in bidding based on own capabilities and
areas of specialization
Local firms with limited extra resources can get involved, due to availability of detailed specifications and
awarding of additional contracts if specification changes
pendency also applied to procurement of Many local firms can participate, since contracts are separated into small sizes
Benefits of Specifying FOSS

Specifying FOSS enables equal participation by local firms that do not possess their own software packages
Specifying FOSS enables contracted firms to use FOSS without worry
mainframes. The new procurement system An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software
specifies the use of FOSS and separates

systems development by function. Testing
and operations are also handled separately as part of a procurement system designed
to create opportunities for local vendors.
Under the new system, prefectural staff prepare the basic system design and define
the detailed requirements for each system function prior to bidding. The major
difference between this and the previous system is that vendors now bid on smaller
units of systems. The arrangement enables local vendors to bid on an equal footing
with major vendors. This is possible due to the availability of detailed ordering
specifications and the possibility of additional orders if specification changes. FOSS
is designated in government specifications, so that excessive requirements are not
placed on vendor guarantees. Specifying FOSS also helps to improve the technical
capabilities of local vendors, who lack the extra capital to deploy expensive commer-
cial software. The new procurement system has enabled the prefectural government
to reduce its procurement costs by one--half to one--third of previous costs.
182
8.6.2 Case Study: Hokkaido Government

The Hokkaido government has indicated that it will actively deploy FOSS for its
HARP framework for development taking place under MIC’s collaborative out-
sourcing project. HARP stands for Har-
monized Applications Relational Platform. Case Study: Hokkaido Government
A report by Hokkaido Bureau of Econo-
Activities of FOSS Communities
my, Trade and Industry indicates that lo- HOSS: Hokkaido Open Source and Security (NPO)
e-Municipal project / Study Group on Open Source
Local User Communities
- DOLUG : Hokkaido Linux User Group
cal governments throughout Hokkaido are - PostgreSQL User Group Hokkaido Branch
- Zope User Group Hokkaido Branch
- NoBUG: Hokkaido *BSD User Group
actively sponsoring FOSS development. The Support from local governments

Commitment from the University establishment of FOSS venture firm (Technoface)
region is also noted for having an active Hokkaido Univ.

(Open System Engineering Course)
Industry-University collaboration project:
Hokkaido local govt.
declaration of departure from Windows
Ebetsu City Branding Dictionary project
OpenSOAP Large scale GNU/Linux adoption to
FOSS community and local vendors with Hokkaido high-school net
FOSS related firms

excellent technical capabilities for FOSS. Technoface: SIer based on OpenSOAP
IP telecom : IPT-Linux and remote surveillance service
Cyber blue : Development of Open Source GIS
Hokkaido actively sponsors FOSS projects An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software
through collaboration between industry and

academia and supports venture firms in-
volved in FOSS development.
Ebetsu City, which is located adjacent to Sapporo, provides an illustration of how
local governments are tackling FOSS development. The municipality is involved
in developing the Ebetsu Brand Encyclopedia project, a FOSS--based information
Web site for regional products and attractions. Development of the system is con-
ducted through the collaboration of local industry, government and academia. The
municipality intends to release the system as FOSS.
The Hokkaido government is also building a system for collaborative use by prefec-
tural secondary schools. The initiative is called the Hokkaido School Net project.
The system is designed to provide schools with various features such as e--mail for
teachers and students. Other features include group--ware, e--learning and video
chat capabilities. The system is built on a GNU/Linux platform to minimize depen-
dency on specific hardware and operating systems. Using GNU/Linux also enable
fully remote maintenance of the system. This feature is necessitated by the vast size
of Hokkaido, which makes it difficult to perform on--site maintenance. The system
also relies on FOSS for various server functions, such as using PostgreSQL for the
system’s library and textbook management database.
183
Education and FOSS
8.7 Education and FOSS

Digitization of education is a critical aspect of e--government frameworks. This sec-
tion examines the purpose of using IT equipment in educational settings as a major
premise for digitization of education. The
current situation for using IT equipment Education and FOSS
in Japanese schools is examined, as well as
IT use in educational settings
the motives of vendors involved in the digi- Fundamental idea to use IT equipment in the field of
education
tization of education. Current deployment Situation in Japanese schools

Japanese public schools suffer from a lack of funding to
of IT equipment at schools reveals a vendor manage IT equipment
Raising expectations for utilizing FOSS
strategy to lock in anticipated future users. Aim of software vendors
The inappropriateness of vendor lock--in is Motivated by a desire to invest in students as future

users
illustrated in the section 9.3 and the sig- Case Study: FOSS trials in education
Some trial projects to use FOSS in educational field
nificance of using FOSS in education is ex- have been conducted

amined here. Examples of several FOSS

projects at schools are described to show
how FOSS is being used in education.
8.7.1 IT Use in Educational Settings

IT use in the field of education is stressed as part of the e--Japan strategy pro-
moted by the Japanese government. The e--Japan strategy sets this goal under the
heading Advancement of Human Resource
Development and the Promotion of Educa- IT Use in Educational Settings
tion and Learning. The e--Japan Priority
Area of emphasis under e-Japan strategy
Policy Program 2004, which was issued in Advancement of Human Resource Development and
the Promotion of Education and Learning
2004, contains a section on digitization of e-Japan Priority Policy Program 2004
Digitization of school education
school education. Under the objective of Improve IT environment in schools
By FY2005, provide 1:1 ratio of PCs to students in

computer labs and 5.4 ratio of students to each
improving the IT environment in schools, educational PC in regular classrooms
IT use in education not information literacy
the policy paper sets a goal of providing a education

Use of IT in education, not education of IT itself
1:1 ratio of PCs to students in school com- Except for Information Study curriculum in upper
secondary schools
IT use aimed at boosting achievement of fundamental

puter labs by FY2005. For regular class- goals of education
rooms, the policy sets a goal of achieving

5.4 ratio of students to every educational
PC.
These goals show that Japan is placing a strong emphasis on the use of IT equipment
in education. However, it is important to remember that the purpose of IT use in
education is not to implement information literacy education. IT use in education
refers to education that utilizes IT, not education of IT. The purpose of IT use in
education is to boost achievement of the fundamental goals of education.
184
Actual IT education is implemented at Japanese upper secondary schools under the

“Information Study” area of curriculum. Information Study should focus on teaching
fundamental IT education that can be widely applied. It should not consist of simple
information literacy education tailored toward specific software products.
8.7.2 Situation in Japanese Schools

Japanese public schools suffer from a lack of funding to deploy, administer and
operate IT equipment. This means that few schools employ an appropriate sys-
tem for administration of IT equipment.
Actual administration is frequently left up Situation in Japanese Schools
to a select group of knowledgeable teach- Inadequate funds to deploy, Instruction using IT
ers who often perform IT administration in administer and operate IT

equipment
equipment
Various experimental
programs are being tried
their spare time. This arrangement adds Administration of equipment

Administration of equipment
Implementation varies widely
depending on school board,
frequently left up to select
to the workload of teachers responsible for group of knowledgeable

teachers
school and teacher
Active use of multimedia

content
IT administration. Imposes extra workload on

teachers Reaction to FOSS from
Volunteer staffs from PTA students
System building tasks are sometimes per- committees or alumni

sometimes build systems
Able to quickly take in new
ideas
formed by a volunteer staff from PTA com- Inadequate safeguards for

security and privacy, despite
sensitivity toward these issues
Some teachers commented
that they learned new things
from students
mittees or alumni. The problem with this An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software

arrangement is that it is highly vulnerable

to neglect. Regular systems administra-
tion can be interrupted when the person in charge moves or their child graduates
from that school. The end result is that administration duties fail to be adequately
taken over by the new administrator.
Due to these circumstances, IT equipment is frequently operated with inadequate
safeguards for security and privacy. This situation occurs in spite of sensitivity
toward security and privacy issues among school IT administrators and teachers.
Although administration tends to be neglected at schools, some schools are imple-
menting programs that use IT in education in progressive ways. Unique software
and systems are being used for experimental programs led by teachers with a strong
interest in using IT equipment. In particular, many schools are actively using mul-
timedia content in education.
However, these programs are usually not implemented under a common framework,
so implementation tends to vary widely by school board, depending also on the
school and teacher. The level of active interest also varies widely from one school
board to another. One school board may be actively involved in using IT in educa-
tion, while a neighboring school board may not be involved at all.
The Japanese government has conducted demonstration experiments for FOSS de-
ployment in schools since 2004. These trials have revealed that students are able
to adapt to FOSS without any resistance. The ease of accepting FOSS reflects the
flexibility of children in terms of their ability to quickly take in new ideas. Some
185
Education and FOSS
teachers who participated in these trials commented that they were able to learn
new things from the students.
8.7.3 Aim of Software Vendors

Software vendors who push for deployment of their software at schools are partly
motivated by a desire to invest in students as future users. Software deployment
in schools is one effective strategy for at-
tracting a large base of users. Aim of Software Vendors
Software is frequently sold at discounted
Students and children seen as future users
prices to students and educational institu- Type of enclosure strategy
Reasons for academic pricing
tions under the guise of academic pricing. Pretext: For cash-strapped students
Real reason: Capture users at early stage
The main justification for academic pricing Issues with Information Study textbooks
Examples used to illustrate how applications work
is that it is designed to keep prices down Pros and cons of describing specific applications
Meaningful to teach operating methods specific to
for financially strapped students. Howev- applications?
Is it fair to teach students about specific applications?
er, the real reason for academic pricing is

to capture users at an early stage. An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software
Textbooks used for the Information Study

curriculum at upper secondary schools pro-
vide a straightforward example of how enclosure works at schools. As part of the
curriculum, students are taught how to use various applications. Many textbooks
attempt to illustrate how to use an application by using the example of an imaginary
application, without referring to a specific application. However, in actual practice,
the operation of an application has to be specific to the application being used.
This leads to the question of whether it is meaningful to teach students operating
methods that are specific to an application. The fairness of teaching students how
to operate only specific applications is also questionable. These issues have yet to
be resolved.
186
8.7.4 Case Study: FOSS Trials in Education

Demonstration experiments of FOSS desktops in educational institutions were con-
ducted in 2004 as part of the IPA’s Infrastructure Building Program for Open Source
Software. The project consisted of field
tests of desktop GNU/Linux and Knoppix. Case Study: FOSS Trials in Education
In the first trial, 300 GNU/Linux desk- IPA-sponsored field tests of FOSS desktops in educational
tops were deployed at eight elementary and institutions (2004)

GNU/Linux desktops deployed at eight elementary and lower
secondary schools in Tsukuba City and Gifu Prefecture
lower secondary schools in Tsukuba City 300 machines deployed and used by 3,000 students
Knoppix trials
and Gifu Prefecture. The machines were Knoppix used by 800 students at eight schools across Japan
(elementary/upper secondary schools, one technical school and
several universities)
used by 3,000 students. In the second trial, Norways Skolelinux project (2003)
Skolelinux deployed and evaluated at four elementary and lower
Knoppix was distributed to eight schools secondary schools in Norway
http://www.skolelinux.org/portal/documentation/reports/
across Japan. Participating schools ranged UKs Open Source Software in Schools project (2004)
FOSS deployed and evaluated at 15 elementary and lower
secondary schools in UK
from an elementary school to several upper http://www.egovmonitor.com/node/907

secondary schools, in addition to a tech-

nical school and several universities. The
Knoppix software was used by 800 students.
Trial deployment of FOSS desktops in education is not unique to Japan. A number
of similar projects have been implemented in Europe. Norway, for example, imple-
mented the Skolelinux project in 2003. Skolelinux is a Debian--based GNU/Linux
distribution for education that includes education--oriented software packages. Un-
der the trial project, Skolelinux was deployed and evaluated at four elementary and
lower secondary schools in Norway. Similar trials were conducted in the United
Kingdom under the Open Source Software in Schools project taking place in 2004.
Under the program, FOSS was deployed and evaluated at 15 elementary and lower
secondary schools in the UK. Summary reports of these trials are available online.
187

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FOSS Government Policy and E--Government

8 FOSS Government Policy and E--Government

FOSS government policy are examined by government

region and country. FOSS?

Trends in the United States

Trends in national and local Japanese government

8.1 Reasons for FOSS Promotion by National and Local Governments

capitalizing on the low cost of FOSS Transparency of procurement and security

Fostering the development of domestic industry

Overcoming the Digital Divide

curity: The features of FOSS are an-

curement and security.

3. Foster development of domestic industry: Utilization of FOSS is aimed at fos-

8.1.1 Reduce Costs and Vendor Lock--In

8.1.1.1 FOSS to Reduce Costs

deploy FOSS is to reduce costs. The role

of government is to spend taxes in order Thought to be chief advantage of deploying GNU/Linux

Nearly always true when replacing Unix

Focus turns to maintenance costs

Purpose of government to spend taxes by generating

cy. FOSS can be licensed without charge, Prevent vendor lock-in

-> See Vendor Lock-In

using commercial software. FOSS also runs An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software

on low cost PC servers instead of expensive

8.1.1.2 FOSS to Reduce Vendor Lock--In

8.1.2 Transparency of Procurement and Security

8.1.2.1 Transparency of Procurement

curement Practices (WGTGP) as a result WTO Ministerial Conference

Established Working Group on Transparency in Government

of a WTO Ministerial Conference. Procurement Practices

Ensure transparency and competitiveness of public

Closed public procurement

has a tendency to become closed. This is Prevent government-initiative collusion

Since source code for FOSS is released, using FOSS promises to

due to frequent personnel transfers within Security

An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software

sequently, many areas of the public sector

8.1.2.2 National Security

8.1.3 Fostering the Development of Domestic Industry

8.1.3.1 FOSS Critical to Promoting National IT Industry

systems to middleware and applications. domestic IT industry

Package software is structured so that prof- market

Governments dislike dependency on foreign sources for

Strong FOSS emphasis in Europe and Asia

Japan: Local governments active in fostering

An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software

their domestic software industries. This is

8.1.3.2 Strong FOSS Emphasis in Europe and Asia

8.1.4 Overcoming the Digital Divide

Digitization among high-income earners

FOSS effective in promoting digitization among

viduals to obtain a diverse range of soft- and South Asia in particular

An Introduction to Free/Open-Source Software

tive for achieving digitization among low--

8.2 Trends in Europe

France, United Kingdom and Italy are ac- Germany

policies to promote FOSS deployment. Case study: Munich Municipal Government

France: walking its own independent path regarding

8.2.1 European Union

Main focus on reducing costs of e-government and

Promoting FOSS deployment

Launched portal site to encourage spread of FOSS

Overcoming the Digital Divide

EUs IDA Programme recommends OpenOffice.org format