Executive One-Pager #1: Why Open Source Software? #
Public sector executives and senior managers have an opportunity to lead digital transformation of mission-critical service delivery and operations within their organizations by embracing open source software solutions.
To drive this transformation, you need to:
Re-orient your organizational culture to become open source software friendly
Invest in building up your staff capacity
Champion digitally-native approaches to procurement, budgeting and contracting that support open source software adoption
Understand the fundamental differences between conventional proprietary software and open source software
Leverage the potential of cross-jurisdictional collaboration to build and support open source software applications
Key Points #
Governments and public sector agencies across Canada and worldwide are already using open source software in significant ways. As governments at all levels incorporate software into a wide variety of processes and services to meet their objectives – from efficient public service delivery to social and environmental goals – open source software presents an excellent option for ensuring quality, ongoing control, and resource efficiency.
Open source software is fundamentally different from conventional proprietary software in several ways: how it is licensed, owned and managed; how it is developed and maintained; and how it is financed and commercialized. Open source software is freely distributed under an open-source license. Many open source software projects are maintained by a global community of users and developers, while others have a smaller contributor base. While the software itself is free, your organization may invest in in-house staff capacity to integrate and maintain software, or contract with a vendor to add specific features or do a custom integration with your existing digital environment.
Open source software does not have to be built from scratch. Hundreds of full open source software projects and even more small component open source modules offer as many options and functionalities as conventional proprietary software. These open source projects and modules serve as a foundation upon which new open source software can be built.
Open source software has the potential to bring a variety of unique benefits to government – including customizability, interoperability, and transparency. While there are barriers to adopting open source software in government – including a lack of in-house technical capacity and inflexible procurement practices – fortunately, there are a variety of strategies and best practices that can help you to overcome these barriers.