Portuguese government plan embraces 'open source' solutions

The Portuguese government plan makes it mandatory for public administrations to compare open source and proprietary software solutions, before purchasing technology solutions or services. The plan states that "Government entities should always quantify the total costs of ownership, taking in mind direct and indirect costs".

It also wants public administrations to make sure that they retain intellectual property over software applications that are made for the authorities. The government recommends using the European Union's public software licence EUPL.

The new rules on open source are part of 25 'rationalisation measures' that are detailed in the government's 'Strategic Plan to Rationalise and Decrease ICT Costs in Public Administration'.

Other measures include implementing the European Interoperability Framework (EIF), starting with mandatory guidelines for the architecture of IT systems. The plan calls for the creation of a national catalogue of software developed for and owned by the state. Portugal's government also announces that it will create a government cloud computing platform, including virtualised desktops.

Portugal's Council of Ministers estimates these measures will result in cost savings up to € 500 million per year.

In a statement published on 23 March 2012, ESOP, an association of Portuguese open source service providers, calls the new IT strategy an "ambitious initiative, pointing in the right direction".

The group commends many of the government's IT actions, especially those on open standards, interoperability and open source. "If thoroughly planned and diligently executed, the adoption of open source may well contribute to significant cuts in public spending", it adds.