TAG | Queensland to investigate open source capability |
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| by Sam Varghese | |
| Friday, 18 July 2008 | |
  
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Which is what the government of the Australian state of Queensland has done. Queensland, which styles itself as the "smart state", has provided funding to research company Longhaus to "identify the current and growing capabilities within Queensland's ICT industry" of the open source sector. Longhaus research director Sam Higgin says: "By 'current capabilities' we mean the local strength the Queensland ICT industry has in open source software - right up and down the stack and across both products and services. i.e. its use in embedded form within hardware, through support of open source solutions, to training etc. "By 'growing capabilities' we mean is there any particular area that based on Queensland's strength it could become a leader in and around open source software. "For example, if Queensland has a strength in the use of embedded Linux could this strength be further nurtured to create a globally competitive hub for this type of activity?" Australia has a massive imbalance in its ICT industry when it comes to exports - in 2006, the trade deficit was $A21 billion. Exports that year were worth $A5.7 billion while imports amounted to a staggering $A26.6 billion. Proprietary software figures largely in that import figure. Hence any move by governments, be they state or national, to look at and evaluate the potential for generating more revenue through free and open source software locally has to be welcomed. That Australia has not done anything noteworthy to encourage its local software industry is a crying shame, especially when there are so many bright minds among its tiny population. Higgins says the organisation expects to complete the research by early September this year. The results "will be used by the Information Industries Bureau, the specialist ICT industry development unit of the Department of Tourism, Regional Development and Industry, to assess the requirement for future industry development strategies that will play to Queensland's open source strengths." A study by Higgins last year highlighted the fact that community contributions to the open source sector were sorely lacking when it came to Queensland's public sector. "Open Source is now a moniker worn proudly by various non-software business models," says Higgins. "Expansion of the concept in areas outside of the software market has brought it to the attention of savvy CEOs and business leaders who are increasingly seeking discussion on how open source solutions might assist their enterprise." The Queensland move comes at a time when organisations that concern themselves with spreading the use of open source in the education and business sectors are trying to lobby government and gain greater involvement in the provision of software to schools. |
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