ESOP, an association of Portuguese open source service providers, praises the Portuguese government for its decision to choose a single open standard that is to be used by the country's public administrations for editable documents. In a press release, ESOP yesterday expressed its support for the way the government had designed its interoperability regulation.
The association compliments the Portuguese government on the approval on 8 November of the 'National Digital Interoperability Regulation'. The group especially notices the pragmatism of this list of open standards which are to be adopted by most of the country's public administrations. "The list is short, with priority given to functions where interoperability problems are a large concern."
"Pragmatism didn't mean loss of insight", ESOP continues, noting that one of its arguments has been recognised by the government. "There is no more than one open standard per functional category." The group says that multiple standards can cause incompatibilities, which in turn can frustrate the adoption process.
The group points out that the Portuguese government selects the Open Document Format as the single open standard for editable documents. "We think this is appropriate since ODF is implemented by several different vendors, in both open source and proprietary applications, across multiple operating systems", ESOP writes. "As a truly open standard, it can be implemented by any vendor that wishes to do so. This is a choice that will save money and avoid vendor lock-in."
According to ESOP, the National Digital Interoperability Regulation is a follow up on the Law of Open Standards, which was adopted in June 2011. Both are part of Portugal's IT reform program, which aims to save 500 million euro per year. The Open Standards law does not apply to municipalities, ESOP notices in an earlier press release. The association adds that it expects municipalities to follow the rules voluntarily.
ESOP writes that with the legal framework in place, it hopes to see a better functioning IT market. "With more competition, lower prices and new opportunities for local SMEs."
More information:
ESOP press statement on 'National Digital Interoperability Regulation' (in Portuguese)
ESOP press statement on ODF and PDF
ESOP's unofficial translation of Law 36/2011 (pdf)
'National Digital Interoperability Regulation' (in Portuguese)
Andy Updegrove's blog
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