Tories want more open source

THE UK CONSERVATIVE PARTY made a commitment this week to promote open source software, or at least give it a chance.

Shadow Chancellor and Firefox user George Osborne told the Royal Society of Arts he wanted to create a level playing field for open source software in the UK. He reckons such a move could save UK taxpayers over £600m a year.

Osborne suggested open source software wasn't getting a fair crack of the whip. "There is not a level playing field for open source software. As it stands, too many companies are frozen out of government IT contracts, stifling competition and driving up costs," he said.

Open source convertee Osborne added: "Ever since I visited the headquarters of Mozilla in Palo Alto I have become a user of its open source Firefox web browser. I am not alone. Almost 20 per cent of online Europeans use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer."

The shadow chancellor said the government's entire approach needs to be overhauled.

"Not a single open source company is included in Catalyst, the Government's list of approved IT suppliers. All too often, a government IT system is incompatible with other types of software, which stifles competition and hampers innovation."

He reckons the use of Open source software could cut Whitehall's IT bill by at least five per cent annually. "That adds up to over £600m a year," he said. µ