Open source technology has failed to catch on with local government and is not necessarily cheaper than proprietary software, according to a new report.
Open source technology has failed to catch on with local government and is not necessarily cheaper than proprietary software, according to a new report.
The claim was made in a new briefing by the Local Government Information Unit, which takes a look at the digital landscape in the council sector.
The document, produced by LGIU associate Stuart Bentley, who is a policy officer at Wolverhampton City Council, listed a number of problems with open source technology, saying that it is currently only used in a few niche, back office applications.
The document said: “Open source technology is generally neither simpler nor cheaper, just different.”
The costs of open source are in deployment, configuration and support, rather than software licenses, the report claimed.
It added that open source software is seen to be difficult to replicate automated interfaces to Microsoft Office products which connect with council systems.
The document said “Also complex spreadsheets with macros, as often used by finance people, don’t migrate well into current open source products.
Central government has championed open source solutions as a way to help SMEs break the stranglehold of the big suppliers over the provision of government ICT products.
Last year, Liam Maxwell, government chief technology officer, said “Open source is at the heart of our commitment to deliver digital public services designed around the needs of citizens.
The LGIU document said that despite examples of savings made by open source products such as Whitehall’s Gov.uk, there is still a preference among government organisations for proprietary software.
It said: “The collective thinking and cost-effectiveness that open source providers offer cannot be matched in terms of expertise of value for money by the traditional proprietary software providers.”
Elsewhere, the report said that better digital leadership from individuals with technical capabilities could help provide “future-proof” and responsive approaches to commissioning ICT services.
It said: “This might mean those willing to support smaller shorter-term contracts, or contracts with a greater focus on outcomes rather than specifications.
“It might also mean those willing to invest time in working with small digital businesses and social entrepreneurs, who are often those at the forefront of innovation, to communicate the council’s needs and how they can become involved in the commissioning process. “
