Role of FOSS in Public Administrations

FOSSinPublicAdministration
Flavia MarzanoFOSSC Oman 18th – 19th February 2015
The role and opportunities of
FOSS Free Open Source Sofware
in Public Administrations
http://opensource.com/sites/default/files/styles/image-full-size/public/images/government/OpenSourceInUse.png?itok=lZQsiq9Z

The role of PAs
Public Administrations (PAs) buying software have to
ensure the respect of many different constraints at
least from the legal, technical and economical
points of view.
Nevertheless PAs can
not forget that they are
spending public money
for public interest, so
they also have to
ensure the respect of
some “common” rules.
http://www.gerypalazzotto.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/20120401_soldi_consulenze.jpg

Technology development
The development of technologies can be seen at
least from 3 different points of view:
•  technical: computer technologies (hw & sw) are
more and more evolved and responding to
customer requirements and needs
•  easiness of use: evolution of technologies has
brought simplification of interfaces and of man-
machine interaction tools
•  economical: strong enhancement of the price/
performance ratio

Risks1
Technologies are evolving very fast and not always
democratically; the risk is that too few suppliers
control the market making technologies an
instrument of power rather than a tool for progress.
Many population groups are weaker for social,
physical, age, gender, income or culture reasons.
For these groups access to technologies is not
insured simply by technical evolution.
http://cobaltpm.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/risk-dice-350x139.jpg

Risks2
The role of politics is essential to lower the digital
divide and to fill the gap between technologies
and citizens giving people the full capacity to control
and use new tools and avoiding the risk of new
monopolies.
…driving technologies
http://stefanini.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Mobile-technologies.jpg

Opportunities1
PAs can turn risks into opportunities, granting citizens
and enterprises the reduction of discriminating
conditions and making them participate to
economical, technological and social evolution
processes.
http://www.stepbystep.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Participation.jpg

Opportunities2
In this phase PAs and in particular the local PAs
have big duties and big opportunities to act in this
direction.
Bridging the digital divide!
http://www.conterra.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/DigitalDivide.jpg

To Do List for PAs1
PAs in buying software must assure:
•  Pluralism, competition and security
•  Integration with the software already in use
•  “Continuity” of data (possibility of reading data
also in the future)
•  Interoperability and cooperation
•  Availability of source code at least for inspection
and traceability (even in case of proprietary code)
http://www.qualogy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/to-do-list-photo.jpg

To Do List for PAs2
PAs in buying software must:
•  Be proprietary of the “structure of data”
•  Get better price/performance solutions
•  Get a good price/performance maintenance
•  Verify the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)
•  Buy software based on Open Standard
•  Be sure to be able to change software supplier
(no lock-in)
•  Be sure that the software acquired will not have
any “backdoors”
http://www.qualogy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/to-do-list-photo.jpg

In giving information, PAs must
grant to citizens
•  Transparency
•  Privacy
•  Accessibility (both in the
sense of availability
of documents and in the sense of accessibility for
disables)
•  Possibility to read public documents without
having to buy any software (or license)
•  Possibility to export data and documents in open
formats
•  Open Government Datahttp://www.nextdayaccess.com/sites/374/uploaded/images/iStock_000000410079_Large.jpg

How?
Most of the previous requirements
can be easily obtained by adopting:
•  Open Standards (OS)
•  Open Source Software (OSS) solutions
… but, in some case, it is essential that
adoption of OS and OSS solutions be made
compulsory by law in order to grant that the
following requirements be totally satisfied…
http://litigation.utahbar.org/images/photo-bylaws.jpg

Requirements
•  Efficient and easy
interoperability
•  Extended reusability
of software and solutions
•  Permanent access to data and information
(Open Government Data)
•  Independence from suppliers
•  Verifiability of content and procedures
… political choices…
http://bazaarvoiceblog.com/wp-content/uploads/openness.jpg
Openness

And citizens?
Acquisition of FOSS by PAs
may help in:
•  reducing the digital divide
•  increasing internal ICT
competences and forming
communities among PAs,
•  favoring sustainable
economic and social
d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e
territory

All these goals may be better achieved
with a good management of the
transition …
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Ponte_del_diavolo_lug_2011.jpg/220px-
Ponte_del_diavolo_lug_2011.jpg
proprietary
free software

People do know their real
power? J
https://xena05.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/la-gente-non-conosce-il-suo-vero-potere_thumb.jpg?w=294&h=252
$
Free
Open
Sw

Technologies Policies
SoftwareKnowledge
Technologies
Efficiency
Rights
Freedom
Horizons

Going on… compulsory rules?
•  PAs when buying software developed on
their own specifications have to acquire the
source code and be proprietary of it;
•  PAs owning software developed on their
own specifications, have to give it for free
with the source code and documentation to
any other PA that can adapt it to its own
needs;
Open by default !

A competence center?
•  Elaborating strategies for the diffusion of
FOSS in the territories
•  Coordinating a working team with
Universities, Associations and Enterprises
interested in the diffusion of FOSS platforms
•  Promoting information and training
activities for territorial PAs and SMEs
•  Promoting experience exchange and reuse
of projects and solutions with other Local
PAs

http://www.leftyparent.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/one-size-fits-all.jpg
..may be not, but...

Why should we share?
“If you have an apple and I have
an apple and we exchange these
apples then you and I will still each
have one apple.
But if you have an idea and I have
an idea and we exchange these
ideas, then each of us will have
two ideas.”
(George Bernard Shaw)

Reac%on
to
Progress,
Technologies

and
Innova%on
–
Rule
1

“Anything that is in the world when you’re
born is normal and ordinary and is just a
natural part of the way the world works…

Reac%on
to
Progress,
Technologies

and
Innova%on–
Rule
2

Anything that's invented between when
you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and
exciting and revolutionary and you can
probably get a career in it…
http://www.davison.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/prototyping-my-invention.jpg

Reac%on
to
Progress,
Technologies

and
Innova%on–
Rule
3

Anything invented after you're thirty-five is
against the natural order of things.”

(Douglas
Adams)

But…

… after it has been in circulation for at
least ten years it can be considered quite
normal.

http://kannadigaworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/69.jpg

And you…
How long have you been pushing for Open
Source?
https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/988338_537567349653039_1586618410_n.jpg?
oh=56485de8a77f1979f63de13297e6fa86&oe=55577D92&__gda__=1432055771_545128aa3dff90a0488909c43c2df1ce

What do we still need to do?
Networking among:
Enterprises, Public
Administrations,
Associations,
Communities,…
http://www.nopetrolioaltairpinia.it/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/image.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-THBw91IDBxI/TwUIsICsF1I/AAAAAAAAAlM/UwUxAqyjz9U/s320/GlassHalfFull-s.jpg
It is not a matter of going fast…
It is important to keep going
(Confucius)
Constant dropping wears
the stone
(In latin: gutta cavat lapidem)

Just for fun …don’t miss it J
How many GNU/Linux users are needed to
change a light bulb?
•  1 to post a thread in a mailing list telling the
bulb has burnt
•  1 to suggest to try to turn the lamp on through
command lines
•  1 to complain that the user broke the thread
•  1 to ask what new bulb will he install
•  …
http://www.gnu.org/fun/jokes/users-lightbulb.html

This presentation, in its original parts, is covered by the Creative Commons
licence: Attribution, Share Alike
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/it/deed.it

@flavia_marzano
http://www.millenium.org/images/contenu/actus/Annonces/annonce-merci.jpg
flavia(dot)marzano (@) gmail(dot)com
it.linkedin.com/in/flaviamarzano/

Role of FOSS in Public Administrations

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