In the wake of the Digital Success Programme 2030 implementation, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology has supported several Hungarian SMEs to develop a new Open Source (OSS) operating system.
The Government of Hungary has shown a growing interest in topics related to digitalisation and digital skills. In fact, it established the Digitális Jólét Program (DJP, Digital Success Programme) in 2015, which focused on the development of a digital infrastructure and know-how for citizens and businesses. Based on four strategies (Digital Child Protection, Digital Export Development, Digital Education, Digital Startup), it produced a general positive outcome (e.g. there has been a steady increase in the percentage of services available on public authority websites), which led the government to launch a new version of the Programme in 2017.
The so-called DJP 2.0 was built around five pillars, articulated in 89 actions along 26 thematic areas. Its objective related to digital transformation of the whole Hungarian society, with the ultimate goal of reaching a competitive advantage in digital. During its implementation, the Programme reported achievements such as the reduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on Internet services from 25% to 5% in one year from the Programme’s kick-off. The policy was meant to facilitate the purchase of Internet subscriptions by citizens and firms, thus enhancing both citizens and businesses’ digital participation.
After the completion of both DJP 1.0 and 2.0, the government decided to extend the Programme, integrating it within the general framework of DJP2030. The new digital programme emphasises the overarching theme of digital state governance, together with a broad strategy as regards human-machine system and data-robot network.
In this context, Open Source plays a significant role, as the Hungarian government hopes to reduce costs and produce 'easy to install and use' software. An example is the release of the Digital Success Software Package (DSSP), which is managed by the DJP2030 and developed by different Hungarian SMEs with the support of the Ministry for Innovation and Technology. The DSSP includes several OSS operating systems related to productivity tools (for professional and academic scopes), entertainment applications as well as eGovernment software solutions.
For more information on the DSSP click here.