OSS Rises to the Challenge: Meeting Government Software Requirements

摘要

Recent downturns in the IT industry have brought about corresponding reductions in the monies available to organisations for the purchase of software. As a consequence open source software is now viewed more favourably than in the past, with increased penetration in all markets. Despite the success of these inroads and the cost savings involved in switching to open source software, proprietary software remains far and away the predominant product of choice.rnIn this paper we discuss some results of research into why public and private organisations select a particular software solution over another. We examine the criteria that make one item of software more attractive to an organisation and compare and contrast software selection in both the public and private sectors. Ultimately we show that OSS is a competitive alternative to proprietary software and that the criteria on which organisations base their software selection, can be met by OSS products.