Successful use of open source software by public administrations in the United Kingdom will be presented at a conference in London on 3 April 2014. Presentations include the use of this type of solutions by the 'Transport for Greater Manchester' for its bus, rail, tram and highway information system and by the Greater London Authority, using it to maximise service innovation.
The GLA will present how the use of open source technologies helps it to reduce costs associated with its ICT infrastructure. It will lists the risks and benefits "associated with open source and legacy ICT, including measures taken to avoid lock-in." Manchester will provide "insights into the multi-modal passenger information system integrating data from bus, rail, tram and highway services delivered over an open source information exchange."
The 'Open Source, Open Standards' conference is accessible for invitees only. It targets those working for central and local government, health services, emergency services, the education sector and other government organisations.
Procurement
The other two public administrations presenting their successful switch to open source are the Local Government Association and the Brighton and Hove City Council. According to the conference programme, the GLA is "transitioning from an expensive, fragmented proprietary technology to a flexible open architecture". Switching to open source is helping to maximise online customer access, improving communication and service performance. One of the topics to be addressed by the GLA is the changes to its procurement.
The Brighton and Hove City Council will present its open source architecture, discuss user and cost benefits and present a checklist for public administrations to consider when exploring open source solutions.
Estonia
The conference will also highlight Estonia as an example to other public administrations. Estonia's Information System's Authority will present how it has been using open source and open standards "to deliver successful results through e-services and information systems".
The UK and Estonia are studying the sharing and re-use of government IT systems. One example would be X-Road, a secure document exchange system developed as open source by the government of Estonia.