nice read ... but नेपालमा यो सब इम्प्लेमेंट गर्न त अलि तिमे लाग्ला
On Wed, Nov 7, 2012 at 10:55 PM, Prabin Gautam <[email protected]>wrote: > UK Government finalizes Open Standards Principles: The Bigger Picture > Posted 6 Nov 2012 by Mark Bohannon<http://opensource.com/users/markbohannon> > (Red > Hat) > [image: open standards announcement] > Image by opensource.com > [image: submit to > reddit]<http://reddit.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fopensource.com%2Flaw%2F12%2F11%2FUK-government-finalizes-open-standards-principles%3Fsc_cid%3D70160000000Sz2GAAS&title=UK+Government+finalizes+Open+Standards+Principles%3A+The+Bigger+Picture> > Average: > Poor<http://opensource.com/law/12/11/UK-government-finalizes-open-standards-principles#20> > Okay<http://opensource.com/law/12/11/UK-government-finalizes-open-standards-principles#40> > Good<http://opensource.com/law/12/11/UK-government-finalizes-open-standards-principles#60> > Great<http://opensource.com/law/12/11/UK-government-finalizes-open-standards-principles#80> > Awesome<http://opensource.com/law/12/11/UK-government-finalizes-open-standards-principles#100> > (5 votes) > > Last week, the UK Cabinet Office released its Open Standards Principles: > For software interoperability, data and document formats in government IT > specifications<http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Open-Standards-Principles.pdf>. > It became effective November 1, 2012, and applies to IT specifications for > software interoperability, data, and document formats for all services > delivered by, or on behalf of, central government departments, their > agencies, non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), and any other bodies for > which they are responsible. > > For the open source community and advocates of open standards, the UK’s > Open Standards Principles policy is a welcome and positive development. > It follows a lengthy, and often > tumultuous<http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/public-sector/2012/05/software-industry-reclaims-ope.html#.UJKUsV1q0Fo.email>, > consultative process that began in 2011. > > On behalf of Red Hat, I was pleased to work with our UK colleagues to > voice support for the Cabinet Office policy consultation, including > participating in one of the Roundtables, along with others in the > community. Great to see Open Forum > Europe<http://www.openforumeurope.org/press-room/press-releases/Press%20release%201-11-2012.pdf>, > the Free Software Foundation > Europe<http://fsfe.org/news/2012/news-20121101-02.en.html>, > and Simon > Phipps<http://www.h-online.com/open/news/item/UK-Government-establishes-royalty-free-open-standards-1741807.html>, > President of the Open Source Initiative, all welcome the policy. (Please > send other statements of support and we’ll update!) > > In a thoughtful response to the comments received during the > consultation<http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/Government-Response.pdf>, > the Cabinet Office debunks many of the claims made by those who lobbied > hard against the open standards policy. At its core, the policy affirms > that open standards are pro-innovation, "encourage competition for > government IT contracts and reduce the opportunity for incumbent suppliers > to be entrenched due to lock-in," and facilitate “more choice among > vendors, and new SMEs entering the market for the provision of products and > services to governmental bodies." They "are enablers for change, giving > services the freedom to evolve according to changing user needs, > expectations and technology innovation." On a number of levels, the UK > Cabinet Office is to be commended for its hard work in the development and > conclusion of this policy. > > This action by the UK Cabinet Office is, in my view, viewed through a > larger lens. This is not merely an 'open standards policy.' It is the > latest step and an integral part of the UK’s effort to reform its public > sector ICT > procurement<http://opensource.com/government/11/3/document-freedom-day-uks-government-ict-strategy-released-odt>and > complements its emphasis on use of open source software and the Cabinet > Office Open Source Procurement > Toolkit<https://update.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/open-source-procurement-toolkit>. > As the UK government stated last year, "The Government will also put an end > to the oligopoly of large suppliers that monopolise its ICT provision" and > will strive to "procure open source solutions" which when used with open > standards, "present[s] significant opportunities for the design and > delivery of interoperable solutions." > > This effort potentially reshapes the competitive landscape for frameworks > for government IT procurements. Where applicable, they "must specify that > open standards for software interoperability, data and document formats > should be implemented, subject to the principle of equivalence, unless > there is a clear business need why an open standard is inappropriate and an > exemption has been agreed." > > This focus on the IT procurement environment, which includes open > standards and open source as integral components, is one that is > increasingly recognized. As Red Hat CEO, Jim Whitehurst, pointed out, "IT > procurement practice hinders growth of open source > industry<http://joinup.ec.europa.eu/news/it-procurement-practice-hinders-growth-open-source-industry> > ." > > According to the Principles, open standards for software interoperability, > data, and document formats, "which exhibit all of the following criteria, > are considered consistent with this policy." > > - *Collaboration—*the standard is maintained through a collaborative > decision-making process that is consensus based and independent of any > individual supplier. Involvement in the development and maintenance of the > standard is accessible to all interested parties. > - *Transparency—*the decision-making process is transparent and a > publicly accessible review by subject matter experts is part of the > process. > - *Due process—*the standard is adopted by a specification or > standardisation organisation, or a forum, or consortium with a feedback and > ratification process to ensure quality. > - *Fair access—*the standard is published, thoroughly documented, and > publicly available at zero or low cost. > - *Market support—*other than in the context of creating innovative > solutions, the standard is mature, supported by the market, and > demonstrates platform, application, and vendor independence. > - *Rights—*rights essential to implementation of the standard, and for > interfacing with other implementations, which have adopted that same > standard, are licensed on a royalty-free basis that is compatible with both > open source [i.e., open source licenses approved by the Open Source > Initiative via their License Review Process] and proprietary > licensed solutions. These rights should be irrevocable unless there is a > breach of license conditions. > > Whether they are designed and built in-house or outsourced, per the > policy, government bodies must require solutions that comply with open > standards, for software interoperability, data, and document formats, where > they exist and meet functional needs, "unless there is a robust and > transparent reason why this is inappropriate." > > This is, indeed, as the UK Cabinet office says, "the start of an exciting > new chapter that will inform every part of the Government’s IT agenda—and > enable us to reform the way we procure, design, and run IT-enabled business > change." > > There is already some evidence that the policy is being implemented via > specific controls. According to one > report<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/02/cabinet_office_open_principles/>, > the open standards principles have already been "embedded" in the Cabinet > Office’s spending controls. The same story reported a Cabinet Officer > spokesperson, "The [Cabinet Office] controls are there to point departments > in the right direction with regards to our IT Strategy. They provide a > challenge and external approval function before departments can commit to > expenditure, which will help projects from being delayed or reshaped." > > This follows on reports earlier this > year<http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/31/government_closed_source_kicked_back/>that > the UK government pulled the plug on some "IT projects that don’t > explore alternatives to closed and proprietary software are getting kicked > back and denied funding." > > This latest action by the UK Cabinet Office is a new benchmark. And with > this new chapter, the work continues to make sure this policy is > implemented effectively, transparently, and efficiently. > > Other similar news: > > - *Government IT projects: UK adopts open technology > standards<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20178175>, > BBC News, 02 November 2012* > - *How will open standards change the future of government > IT?<http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240170054/How-will-open-standards-change-the-future-of-government-IT>, > Computer Weekly, 02 November 2012* > > > -- > FOSS Nepal mailing list: [email protected] > http://groups.google.com/group/foss-nepal > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] > > Mailing List Guidelines: > http://wiki.fossnepal.org/index.php?title=Mailing_List_Guidelines > Community website: http://www.fossnepal.org/ > -- >From the PC of Spandan Pradhan Acme Engineering College Email : [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Website : www.spandan.com.np www.meroudayapur.com siwdt.co.cc Blogs : www.technetnepal.net/blogs/spandanp www.ctrlaltdelte.tk -- FOSS Nepal mailing list: [email protected] http://groups.google.com/group/foss-nepal To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] Mailing List Guidelines: http://wiki.fossnepal.org/index.php?title=Mailing_List_Guidelines Community website: http://www.fossnepal.org/
