Background
Open-Source software has been around since the 1980s but for most of that time it has been widely viewed as the domain of hardcore IT types and not ready for general consumption. This view is reflected in the fact that while open-source products power many of the servers delivering content on the Internet, open-source software has not experienced the same level of take-up on the desktop PC.
This situation appears to be changing however. More companies and organisations, including large government departments such as the US Department of Defence and the NZ Ministry of Justice, have become vocal proponents of open-source software solutions. They claim that open-source software has a lower total cost of ownership, has a more rapid development process and is more secure than proprietary software. Their reasoning for greater security is that with the source code being open for all to view, security holes are found and plugged before they are exploited.
The main issue holding back schools and small businesses from moving to open-source solutions on the desktop is the often limited support and documentation that makes much open-source software a difficult proposition to maintain and manage. This lack of documentation and support often results in the running cost of open-source software, i.e. the costs associated with lost productivity due to downtime and the cost of in-house technical-staff time required to support the software, quickly outstripping the initial purchase price of a commercial alternative.
It is this situation that has lead the Department of Information Science to establish the Open Source Software Initiative to support the take up of open source software by schools by using its expertise to develop standardised, tested software bundles that “work” and to provide a support forum with “expert advisors” to assist in the identification of appropriate open-source solutions.
More Information
More information about this initiative will be provided soon at: http://www.ossi.otago.ac.nz/
