Italy Posts Benchmark Open vs Closed Software

The Agenzia per l'Italia Digitale (AGID) on Wednesday posted the criteria and guidelines on how to compare open source and proprietary software. The document is to help public administrations to give priority to free and open source solutions, and to the re-use of software paid for by public administrations. As part of the preparation, AGID during the past year held several meetings with industry experts, including free software specialists.

The guidelines were approved by AGID on 6 December.

The detailed, 70-page methodology is intended to be used by Italy's public administrations that need to acquire software products and solutions. In its introduction, AGID writes the guide should also interest many other ICT operators, including developers, system integrators and consultants. Next to providing a benchmark assessment, the guide also covers all involved legal aspects, including elements that can be used to prepare calls for tender.