Government open source trials make progress

The latest in the series of public sector open source trials will begin next month, with local government users keen to adopt the technology.

Powys Council is to work with IBM to integrate the open source Samba File and Print product into a sophisticated Lightweight Directory Access Protocol directory for single sign-on and authorisation.

The council has used Linux since 1998 for its infrastructure but not for end-user applications. "We are very comfortable Linux users," said IT manager Andrew Smith.

The Office of Government Commerce (OGC), which is behind the trials, visited last week to check on progress; Smith said he was pleased with the meeting.

Another trial, involving Central Scotland Police, is now well advanced, with completion expected in April or May.

The force is working on a wide-ranging document management and administration processing system, covering workflow, new legislation (including freedom of information), and document collation. IT manager James Jarvie said the OGC would gain major benefits.

"The OGC has a product that's reusable. We are sharing with colleagues in other police forces and councils. It will be a template which other bodies can take and build on," he said.

Trials underway in three central government departments - the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Department for Culture Media and Sport - are understood to be nearing completion.

These involve desktop and file and print server deployments of open source software.

But the OGC is remaining tight-lipped about progress. In a statement it said: "It is OGC policy not to comment on any trails until they are concluded. Once this stage has been reached and all evidence has been assessed a report will be published."

But user group SOCITM is keen there should be open source options for government, chief executive Kate Mountain told vnunet.com.

"Open source systems are already very popular among local authorities. We know they're not free because they need supporting. Overall they're probably a lower cost solution but we're keen to have the data," she said.

The DWP and OGC have previously collaborated on building a Linux-based stationery ordering system, called 'Purchase and Pay', while Sun is running a series of pilots of its mostly open source Java Desktop System in conjunction with the OGC, including one with the NHS.