Studies

Independent advice: Norway's Friprog competence centre — published on Sep 18, 2008

Friprog is the Norwegian competence centre for free and open source software. Set up as an independent advisory body and financed by the Ministry of Government Administration and Reform, Friprog provides advice on the use of open source software to public bodies and private companies. It also helps to shape Norway's policies towards free software. The centre was built in close cooperation with similar projects in other Scandinavian countries.

Declaration of Independence: The LiMux Project in Munich — published on Aug 22, 2008

The German city of Munich is migrating its computers to open source and GNU/Linux, both on desktops and servers. Rather than lowering IT costs, the main motive is the desire for strategic independence from software suppliers. In May 2008, the city released its Wollmux template management system as open source software under the EUPL on the OSOR platform.

Building networks: The Mancomún project in Galicia, Spain — published on Aug 22, 2008

Started in May 2006 as an initiative of the Galician government, Mancomún is designed to support Galicia's progress towards the information society. The project promotes growth in the regional ICT sector through the advantages of free software and open standards. For the past two years, the Mancomún portal has been spreading knowledge about open source. The initiative has organised numerous projects such as the translation of free software applications into the local language. Now Mancomún is taking the next step, transforming itself into a regional reference centre for open source.

A hub for Open Source: the COKS centre in Slovenia — published on Jul 18, 2008

The Slovenian COKS competence centre (www.coks.si), launched in October 2007, provides information and support for Slovenian users of Open Source software. With the government's help, COKS assists the public sector in using Open Source to its advantage. COKS offers information, a call centre, paid support and a software repository. An effort by a consortium of private companies and academic institutions, the impulse for COKS came from the Slovenian Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Technology.

Low-cost high tech: BBC tries out Open Source-based tapeless recording — published on Mar 13, 2008

Hordes of creepy critters are crawling through a forest of obstacles, as teams of children cheer them on. The creatures in the BAMZOOKi show are virtual, created with the latest computer technology. Now the equipment used to record this kids' TV show is catching up. At the BBC, an Open Source suite of hard drive recording software is preparing to replace clumsy tapes.

A sharing attitude: Programverket in Sweden — published on Dec 17, 2007

Aimed at public administrations at the local and regional level, Programverket in Sweden provides a platform for sharing specialised software on a FLOSS basis. Though it is still under development, its mission goes much further: It wants to be an outlet for a new level of cooperation between public bodies.

Networks effects: Plone for Belgium and beyond — published on Nov 26, 2007

CommunesPlone originated as an initiative to promote software cooperation between local governments in Belgium. Since its start in 2005, it has grown rapidly, with now 26 members. Organised like a FLOSS community, the group develops applications in the Plone. Taking this idea to the international level, the PloneGov project, started in June 2007, brings together 55 public bodies on four continents to produce Plone-based software that fits their needs.

The best software for the purpose: softwarebørsen.dk — published on Oct 24, 2007

It is becoming common knowledge in the public sector that sharing and reusing software is a wise thing to do. But the devil is in the details. In Denmark, softwarebørsen.dk is out to not only make software reuse easy, but also to give public bodies and companies incentives to actually take the plunge. Involving companies is a key tactic. Their interests help to make the platform more attractive and efficient

Building a market for FLOSS: The OSOSS project in the Netherlands — published on Sep 25, 2007

Urging public administrations to use Free/Libre/Open Source Software (FLOSS) and open standards is one thing. Getting them to really take the jump is quite another. In the Netherlands, the OSOSS programme is helping ministries and municipalities to make their IT strategies more open. Its goal is to create a level playing field for FLOSS solutions, and to boost the local economy and the Netherlands' capability for IT innovation.

Migration XXL: The large-scale GNU/Linux roll-out of Lower Saxony's tax authority — published on Jul 24, 2007

When the tax authority Lower Saxony needed to upgrade the Solaris software on the 14,000 desktop computers in its 70 offices throughout the state, it chose Suse GNU/Linux as a replacement. Taking place between April and October 2006, roll-out and training were organised to interlock tightly. Cost was not as much of an issue as flexibility and a modern desktop environment. Today, users are very satisfied both with the new software and the training they received.