The Scottish policy
20. The Open Source Software Working Group supports a level playing field between FLOSS and proprietary software procurement within the public sector in Scotland. The group considers FLOSS solutions competitive and viable; providing users the opportunity to increase choice, competition and efficiency, whilst potentially achieving long term savings and providing alternative options for supplier relationships. However, there is a need to always procure a solution that gives best value and, whilst this solution could be a FLOSS solution, a proprietary solution or a mixture of both, decisions should be made on a case by case basis. Proprietary software and FLOSS should co-exist in most organisations.
The key elements of this policy are as follows:
- The Scottish public sector should consider FLOSS solutions alongside proprietary ones in ICT procurements. Contracts will continue to be awarded on a best value basis.
- The Scottish public sector should make open standards a prerequisite for all interoperability software development, thus contributing to the ease with which FLOSS can be implemented and adapted.
- The Scottish public sector should seek to avoid lock-in to solutions that may prohibit the delivery of efficient public services.
- The Scottish public sector should consider obtaining full rights to bespoke software code or customisations of COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) software it procures wherever this achieves best value for money.
- Where software is produced in-house by the Scottish public sector, or through publicly funded research and development projects, consideration should be given to making this available as FLOSS.
The aims of the Scottish policy are consistent with version 2 of the 'Open Source Software; Use within UK Government' policy document 6 published in October 2004.