SSC promotes open source

ComputerWorld NZ is running a story in which the NZ State Services Commission promotes the benefits of open source software.

According to Laurence Millar, SSC deputy commissioner and head of the ICT branch, "open source is a viable option for government agencies, and it should be considered alongside proprietary systems."

He points out that open source software is community driven, existing within an ecosystem. This holistic approach is "a signifier for the way technology is likely to evolve, which will be centred around more loosely connected rather than monolithic infrastructure."

Most gratifyingly for us, Millar goes on to say: "Often, people go for open source software because of the initial attraction of cost-savings, but in many cases they will find that it delivers broader benefits than that, such as the sustainability of the community and the level of support available from that community."

We hope that the current NZ government will demonstrate a commitment to using open source and domestic open source suppliers. This would help support its rhetoric about how NZ's future viability depends on building a domestic knowledge economy - previously the NZ government has shown a strong preference for foreign-owned proprietary software vendors.