open source in the public sector

The issue of open source adoption in the UK public sector has been bubbling away for years, but perhaps things are finally coming to a head. There have been various noises made previously, but little of substance seems to have been born out of them. Back in 2002 the OGC published the following guidance for organisations considering open source:

http://www.ogc.gov.uk/assets/images/OGCOpenSourceSoftwarePolicy.pdf

The government revised its policy on Open Source in 2004 as can be found here:

http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/documents/oss_policy_version2.pdf

And this year the Cabinet Office has published not just a revised policy, but also a more concrete action plan (PDF and HTML versions available below):

http://www.govtalk.gov.uk/documents/Open%20Source%20Final.pdf
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/government_it/open_source.aspx

Why is this year different from those previously? With a new policy comes renewed interest and so for a brief moment there exists another opportunity to drag the public sector into the 21st century from a technology perspective.

http://www.conservatives.com/News/News_stories/2009/01/Improving_IT_procurement_and_encouraging_open_source_software.aspx
http://www.tom-watson.co.uk/2009/02/government-levels-the-playing-field-for-open-source/

BECTA and the Liberal Democrats are in attendance at this years Open Source / Public Sector event in London. I look forward to reading the write-ups published after.

http://www.kablenet.com/ke.nsf/0/CEECC1110A6481848025751300563D0D/$file/OPEN%20SOURCE%20BROCHURE%5B1%5D.PDF

OGC is still not listing any open source companies directly, but surely this year we will see the list of approved suppliers branch out into new open source territory ...