UK failing to exploit open source

The UK's failure to make use of open source is a "scandal", according to open-source experts speaking at a key Westminster debate.

"There is more open-source work being done in Guatemala," said Linux kernel developer and Red Hat fellow Alan Cox. The public sector is scared of open source, he said, adding that rules that restrict the use of open source in schools are building obsolescence into the UK education system by ensuring children do not become familiar with open-source software.

"There are fundamental problems with the British government itself," said Cox, speaking at the Westminster eForum event on Wednesday. The UK's civil servants are averse to risk, only dealing with large, established companies, he said.

"We're one of the fastest-growing UK companies but, for whatever reason, the UK is not an open market for open-source software," said John Powell, chief executive of UK-based content-management software vendor Alfresco. One hundred thousand workers at the European Commission use Alfresco, along with three of the world's top investment banks, he said, but the company only makes five percent of its revenue in the UK because of the UK's fear of open source, which he branded as a "scandal".

"The UK is a different market to the rest of Europe," said Powell; large software companies have always been able to sell their software directly in the UK, have become more entrenched and have been able to project the message that open-source software is "risky", he said.

There is almost no open source in use within the UK government, said David Gauke, Conservative MP for South West Hertfordshire. The Treasury runs open source on less than six percent of its servers and less than one percent of its overall IT infrastructure, with the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and the Department for Work and Pensions/Health all having virtually no open-source software, Gauke said, referring to information he gained from parliamentary questions. The shadow chancellor, George Osborne, has estimated that open source could save five percent of the government's IT budget, which Gauke said would amount to £620m a year.

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John Pugh, Liberal Democrat MP for Southport, was also active at the event, chairing several sessions. He has led a parliamentary campaign to try to force Becta, the government's schools IT agency, to recommend open source.

Microsoft had a different take. "Most organisations are looking for a best-of-breed approach," said Nick McGrath, director of platform strategy at Microsoft, who put the case for proprietary software. Users would adopt Microsoft software because it "just works", he said.