The adoption of open-source software in governments has had its ups and downs. While open source seems like a “no-brainer”, it turns out that governments can be surprisingly resistant to using FOSS for a variety of reasons. Federico González Waite spoke in the Open Government track at SCALE 22x in Pasadena, California to recount his experiences working with and for the Mexican government. He led multiple projects to switch away from proprietary, often predatory, software companies with some success—and failure.
Category: Latest News
EU OS: Community-led Proof-of-Concept for a free Operating System for the EU public sector
EU OS is a Proof-of-Concept for the deployment of a Fedora-based Linux operating system with a KDE Plasma desktop environment in a typical public sector organisation. Other organisations with similar requirements or less strict requirements may also learn from this Proof-of-Concept.
Despite the name, EU OS is technically not a new operating system. Distrowatch lists currently over 250 Linux operating systems (‘distributions’) and their various flavours, spins or subvariants are not even counted in. The added value of EU OS is a different one:
- a common Linux OS as a base for all EU OS users with options to layer on top modifications (national layer, regional or sector-specific layer, organsation-specific layer)
- a common desktop environment
- a common method to manage
- users and their data
- software
- devices
This project is very similar to what the SAOSS is trying to achieve within the South African public sector too.
Time to ditch US tech for homegrown options, says Dutch parliament
The motions were submitted and all passed yesterday during a discussion in the Netherlands’ House of Representatives on concerns about government data being shipped overseas. While varied, they all center on the theme of calling on the government to replace software and hardware made by US tech companies, acquire new contracts with Dutch companies who offer similar services, and generally safeguard the country’s digital sovereignty.
“With each IT service our government moves to American tech giants, we become dumber and weaker,” Dutch MP Barbara Kathmann, author of four of the motions, told The Register.
See https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/19/dutch_parliament_us_tech/
Open source software can benefit South African youth, fight joblessness
This is most definitely the case, and was one of the reasons that the South African Cabinet approved (and never rescinded?) the policy that indicated that all future software developed for government would be based on open standards, and that government would migrate its current software to open source.
It was all about reducing costs, and/or investing in the local economy to create jobs, and also to establish SA’s digital sovereignty.
Open source software provides a very low barrier of entry to learning, as well as for businesses. Importantly, it also makes it easy to examine how it works, and even to modify it (in other words, to customise it for local use).
Some claim that open source may not just be dropped in and ready for use in government. That is quite true, but it should still be a LOT cheaper than trying to implement Oracle ERP in a UK municipality? A country can’t really go wrong with using open standards (anyone can compete) and investing in local skills and businesses.
We have heard very little (to nothing) about open source in the South African government since 2008/2009 or so. It is very refreshing to see this being given some media time again.
Digital Sovereignty in the BRICS Countries
Published by Cambridge University Press as an open access publication, so it is freely downloadable from https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/digital-sovereignty-in-the-brics-countries/27E9FD7E4579C76C8D4BA52F7670B431.
It is an interesting analysis on this topic of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa, and is very relevant to those involved in digital governance, cybersecurity, or e-Government.
Really nothing we don’t know about, but interesting to see they also picked up on great intentions but lacklustre execution of planning.
Chapter 4 deals with South Africa, and what I found especially appealing were the parts about FOSS Activism and decentralised social networks on pages 30-31, 190, and 192-209.
Yes, many of those FOSS activists are still around and just as passionate as back in the day, except most have left government service by now. They still keep in contact though.
German Sovereign Tech Fund: Investing over €23 million in 60 open technologies
From their blog:
Throughout our second year, the Sovereign Tech Fund identified and invested in even more foundational open source technologies. With nearly 500 submissions proposing over €114 million in work since we started accepting applications, the need for support has never been more clear. By financing critical projects like Log4j, we’re commissioning much-needed maintenance, security work, and improvements in the public interest. The work on these components benefits all the companies, organizations, and individuals who depend on the open technologies that comprise our shared digital infrastructure.
In August, we announced a new initiative, the fellowship for maintainers. It addresses a critical challenge in the open source ecosystem: how we can support the dedicated individuals who keep our digital infrastructure running. The fellowship is designed around the lived reality of how many maintainers work: stretched across multiple technologies, multi-faceted, and often behind the scenes. In the pilot year of the program, it will pay up to five maintainers of critical open source components for 12 months, for work that is hard to quantify for funding applications.
Kelsey Hightower: If governments rely on FOSS, they should fund it
Acclaimed engineer Kelsey Hightower, who stopped coding for money in 2023, remains an influential figure in the world of software, and he’s proposing something that might stir up the open source community.
Funding open source is an ongoing hot topic. During a chat at Civo’s recent Navigate event, Hightower joked with us how companies were happy to spend big on cloud subscriptions but tended to skimp when it came to paying a comparatively token amount for open source.
Open source developers, however, require reimbersement, and Hightower has some interesting ideas on how that could be accomplished. “I think we have all got a little complacent,” he tells The Register.
It’s true that much of the open source that is used by governments, are often essential, otherwise they’d be paying an arm and a leg for some commercial cloud subscription. It’s important, not only to ensure getting some support, but to also ensure that the software is kept up to date and continues to receive support into the future.
Some governments do actually contribute already if I think of some examples from France, Germany, and the EU itself. FOSS software being used is not just the glossy front-ends that users see, it is often the essential plumbing holding the wide area networks together, or keeping the storage and databases going. In many cases, I’m pretty sure that CEOs are not even aware of how much open source software is used in their organisations.
See https://www.theregister.com/2024/09/19/kelsey_hightower_civo
New UK government should embrace open source, says industry non-profit
The UK government should make better use of open source technologies in the public sector and adopt a more open approach to AI development, according to OpenUK.
The non-profit group, which represents the country’s open source community, made the call to action just hours before polls closed ahead of the 2024 general election last week in its latest manifesto launch.
A key talking point in the new manifesto centers around fostering closer ties between the open source ecosystem and government, which the group has been keen to push in recent years.
Open source could, the organization says, supercharge the UK economy and unlock marked benefits for public sector bodies.
“The Open Manifesto is a rallying cry to develop skills that will enable jobs in our left-behind rural communities. It’s also a call to seize our late-mover advantage in the public sector, to build the next generation of open source skills and management across the UK public sector,” said Amanda Brock, CEO of OpenUK.
“Only by doing this will the digital infrastructure we all rely on today be allowed to flourish. This will both revolutionize the UK’s public services and bolster our already strong homegrown community.”
Switzerland mandates software source code disclosure for public sector: A legal milestone
Professor Dr. Matthias Stürmer has been a pivotal advocate for this change. With a background in digital sustainability and open source community building, Stürmer has long argued for the benefits of OSS in enhancing digital transparency and reducing dependency on proprietary software. His involvement in various capacities, including his role at the Research Center for Digital Sustainability and as president of the open source association CH Open.
The EMBAG law stipulates that all public bodies must disclose the source code of software developed by or for them, unless precluded by third-party rights or security concerns. This mandate aims to ensure greater transparency, security, and efficiency in government operations by promoting the use of OSS, which allows for public scrutiny and contribution to the software code.
The implementation of EMBAG is expected to serve as a model for other countries considering similar measures. The law aims to promote digital sovereignty and encourage innovation and collaboration within the public sector. As Switzerland adopts this approach, the benefits of open source software—greater security, cost efficiency, and enhanced public trust—may become more apparent.
German state of Schleswig-Holstein ditches Windows, Microsoft Office for Linux and LibreOffice
Schleswig-Holstein, Germany’s most northern state, is starting its switch from Microsoft Office to LibreOffice, and is planning to move from Windows to Linux on the 30,000 PCs it uses for local government functions.
The announcement (in German) was made yesterday by the state’s Minister-President Daniel Gunther, who has served in that position since 2017. According to a translated version of the announcement, independence was a key motivation for switching to open source software.
This is unlike the reasons that were given by Munich and Lower Saxony which were stayed to be cost savings, and then Microsoft discounted their services. Back when LiMux started, it was mostly seen as a way to save money. Now the focus is far more on data protection, privacy and security. Consider that the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) recently found that the European Commission’s use of Microsoft 365 breaches data protection law for EU institutions and bodies.”
See https://www.theregister.com/2024/04/04/germanys_northernmost_state_ditches_windows/