It was a long time in coming, but the government’s use of open-source infrastructure software, such as the Linux operating system or the Apache Web server, is no longer a novelty.
Indeed, open-source databases, middleware and network-monitoring tools have become an information technology staple in many agencies.
Government officials who support open source now find they have a new decision to make: whether to use one of the growing number of open-source packages that could handle higher-profile agency operations, such as business intelligence analysis, content management or customer relationship management (CRM), to name a few.
Deborah Bryant, public-sector communities manager for Oregon State University’s Open Source Lab, said the applications sector has started to take off.
“We’ve definitely seen an uptrend in that kind of adoption,” she said.
Bryant said the switch to open-source generally occurs as an agency’s proprietary application reaches the end of its life or approaches the end of its license term.
Agencies that embrace open-source applications often cite two primary reasons: lower upfront cost and a greater ability to customize. But first they must weigh support options, involve key stakeholders and examine licensing modes to see whether the move makes sense.
Although open source was considered exotic a decade ago, the infrastructure variety has become commonplace.
“Infrastructure is really becoming a no-brainer,” Bryant said. “There is such a reliable suite of software available that most agencies — particularly small to midsize agencies — feel foolish not to take a look.” As organizations move beyond that foundation, the first stop might be an open-source Web portal.
The Court of Appeals of Georgia, having previously deployed Apache, MySQL and PHP as its Web site infrastructure, is now deploying an open-source portal. The organization’s adoption of the Liferay portal came through a circuitous route.
Several years ago, the court began looking for portal software that would serve as the underpinning for electronic filing and docketing applications. John Ruggeri, the court’s director of technical services, said some of the commercial portal products he examined cost $100,000 before customization.
Court officials originally chose Novell’s exteNd platform as a less expensive solution. But they eventually backed away from that product, amid concerns that Novell would discontinue support. Now, Liferay plays the portal role and the custom e-filing and docketing applications are slated for completion by the end of 2008.
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