Sessions at TransferSummit 2011 about Government on Wednesday 7th September

The much anticipated UK Government ICT Strategy 2011 strengthened its focus on open standards and open source to deliver better IT systems and drive value for money. The Coalition Agreement itself aims for a “level playing field” for opens source.

The policy on open source was launched in 2004, and relaunched in 2009. However the Government wants to further improve its use of open source technologies. To this end, an Open Source working group has led on efforts to understand barriers to wider open source adoption in Government, and to create an action plan to address these barriers.

Tariq Rashid, an architect from the Home Office, will explain why Government believes open source has value beyond simply cost free software. Open standards are key to encouraging a competitive market that works for the customer’s benefit, and open source is an important participant. Open source aligns with other Government priorities for SMEs and the Big Society.

The session will centre on the Government’s action plan to address barriers to open source adoption, targeting almost every step of the IT system lifecycle. Tariq will report on some early successes, and outline challenges ahead.

True to the open approach, you are encouraged to challenge, query and suggest new ideas for the action plan.