FOSS Policy Implications for government departments and the Developmental State Agenda 22 October, 2013

1. FOSS Policy Implications for government departments and the Developmental State Agenda 22 October, 2013

2. WHAT IS FOSS? The Basic Idea • Reduce IT Costs • Interoperability between systems • Ability to customize • Value for Money

3. THE DISCOURSE Mismatch between the government policy adoption on FOSS and Open Standards and the skills output from the educational system to support government's shared vision.

4. FOSS VALUE PROPOSITION: Localisation Adaptation of technology products to local languages, culture or even legislation to enable social appropriation and ensure maximum use of technologies The Philosophy: “Software localisation can therefore not only help with access to information and useful technology, but also with language revival and cultural preservation.” Source: Translate.org

5. FOSS GREATER VALUE PROPOSITION • it is more reliable, secure and resistant to viruses and malware • it is easier to administer, especially in large deployments • it works well on older and cheaper hardware, so budgets don't have to be wasted on purchasing new, expensive computers Source: LinuxAustralia

6. FOSS BENEFITS

7. ICT SPEND IN SA • R35 Billion per annum spent by government (National, Provincial and Local) on technologies: hardware; software; and services, (ForgeAhead, 2010) • IT spending in the government sector in South Africa totaled $1.47 billion in 2010, (IDC) • The 2010 United Nations eGovernment Development Index ranks it 97th out of 190 states, with an index value of 0.4306, behind the world average of 0.4406, (IDC)

11. BACKGROUND: GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY TRENDS • DTT Platforms • Broadband Technologies • Open ICT Ecosystems • Digital Business Ecosystems

12. GUIDING PRIORITIES MTSF Intensify the fight against crime and corruption Build cohesive, caring and sustainable communities Pursuing African advancement and enhanced international cooperation Sustainable resource management and use Building a developmental state, including improvement of public services and strengthening democratic institutions

13. Cabinet Lekgotla Priorities On job creation, the meeting recalled the damage to the economy caused by the recent global economic downturn which cost the country about 900 000 jobs. The Cabinet Lekgotla resolved to: fast-track interventions that will help create employment.

14. FOSS POLICY 2007 SA FOSS POLICY [Feb. 2007]The key Objectives The South African Government will implement FOSS unless proprietary software is demonstrated to be significantly superior. Whenever the advantages of FOSS and proprietary software are comparable FOSS will be implemented when choosing a software solution for a new project. Whenever FOSS is not implemented, then reasons must be provided in order to justify the implementation of proprietary software The South African Government will migrate current proprietary software to FOSS whenever comparable software exist All new software developed for or by the South African Government will be based on open standards, adherent to FOSS principles, and licensed using a FOSS license where possible The South African Government will ensure all Government content and content developed using Government resources is made Open Content, unless analysis on specific content shows that proprietary licensing or confidentiality is substantially beneficial The South African Government will encourage the use of Open Content and Open Standards within South Africa.  

15. FOSS POLICY 2007 SA FOSS POLICY [Feb. 2007]The key Departments

16. INTRODUCTION Making South Africa a Global Leader in Harnessing ICTs for Socio-economic Development

17. STANDARDS The South African Government has adopted the Minimum Interoperability Standards which are meant to set the premise for technology independent platforms and to guide information systems in government by adopting technical principles based on open platforms Current version is MIOS 4.1

20. INTRODUCTION FURTHER EDUCATION and TRAINING SCHOOLS Making South Africa a Global Leader in Harnessing ICTs for Socio-economic Development

21. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (DoC)‏ Making South Africa a Global Leader in Harnessing ICTs for Socio-economic Development

22. South Korea e-Gov Framework Principles‏

23. South Korea e-Gov Framework Principles‏ Making South Africa a Global Leader in Harnessing ICTs for Socio-economic Development

24. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (DoC)‏ Making South Africa a Global Leader in Harnessing ICTs for Socio-economic Development

25. SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (DoC)‏ Making South Africa a Global Leader in Harnessing ICTs for Socio-economic Development

26. Mainstream FOSS at FET colleges • MICT SETA Short FOSS Course • Site inspections and Moderator/Assessor approval • Brazil Gov Software Portal offerings (www.softwarepublico.gov.br) CURRENT FOSS DELIVERY MODELS

27. BRAZIL-SA FOSS PARTNERSHIP • Some few years back, the Brazilian Government through its Ministry of Planning offered forty-four (44) software packages (some already translated into English) to the South African government through its Department of Communications (including PNC), as well as the Chairperson of the GITOC council. The role players that participated in conceiving this project plan included: • The South African Government: Department of Communications (e-Skills Institute), the Centre for Science Innovation and Research (CSIR, Meraka Institute), and • Brazilian Government and Delegation: Ministry of Planning; International Centre for Software technology (CITS); Integrasul and Softex.

28. BRAZIL-SA FOSS PARTNERSHIP Broadly, the proposal aims to develop local FOSS skills by leveraging on a pilot project based on a software solution from the Brazilian Public Software Portal software, and as a basis to increase innovation in the software development industry in South Africa through harnessing of these technologies. For this reason Two (2) applications (as proposed by South Africa) have been selected from the Brazilian Portal and they include: • CACIC, is a software for management of computing parts networks. This software takes inventory of hardware, software and IT assets which are interconnected in structured networks through technology based on intelligent agents, and; 2. Ginga, is a middleware solution which allows the development of interactive applications for Digital TV, independent of the hardware platforms of the terminal access (Set Top Boxes) vendors.

29. Sustainability Organizational Sustainability : People – managers, users and developers, are the foundation of an organization and its ecosystem. Without human resource planning as part of larger change management efforts, government is unlikely to achieve sustainability or cost saving. Technological Sustainability: Open ICT ecosystem can ensure a reliable pipeline of technology and innovation by using an architecture-based approach, open standards, procurement policies and collaborating with industry partners. Policies driven by technology neutrality can future-proof the architecture, limiting the impact of changes in source or components Financial Sustainability: Government is expected to fund initial investments while moving to open ICT ecosystem. However, recurring costs of support and management will remain. Open standards, interoperability, competition from software choices, the application of performance metrics and cross-agency budgeting can all help drive down these recurring costs. Legal Sustainability: Open standards are among the basic rules of the ecosystem, but must be made part of a larger framework addressing procurement, licensing, privacy, intellectual property, competition and other issues.

30. THANK YOU!!