BBC News reports that the United Kingdom will be using more free alternatives to proprietary software for public services.
Announcing an open source and open standards action plan, the government said it would:
- ensure that the government adopts open standards and uses these to communicate with the citizens and businesses that have adopted open source solutions
- ensure that open source solutions are considered properly and, where they deliver best value for money are selected for government business solutions
- strengthen the skills, experience and capabilities within government and in its suppliers to use open source to greatest advantage
- embed an open source culture of sharing, re-use and collaborative development across government and its suppliers
- ensure that systems integrators and proprietary software suppliers demonstrate the same flexibility and ability to re-use their solutions and products as is inherent in open source.
A smart move by the UK government. Now if only they would stop spying on their citizens and treating them like potential criminals.