I just came back from the Conference on Engaging Open Source in Halifax. Good to see some fellow bloggers, like Steve and Iain, but probably the most informative session was from Robert Charpentier of Defence R&D in Valcartier QC. Robert and his colleagues have recently released a report entitled Free and Open Source Software Overview and Preliminary Guidelines for the Government of Canada. This is a must-read report if you work in or with the federal government. Robert told me that Ontario and Quebec are moving in the same direction as the federal government; to include FOSS in all procurement considerations. This is a big deal and I encourage the open source communities to examine the report and ensure a seat at the procurement tables. There will be many opportunities for the training & education sector here as well, if you understand the requirements and know the subject area (hint).
The best piece of information during this conference came from Robert. He said that the OS collaborative development process is very effective, and their analysis of 287 technical reports showed that bug fixes for proprietary software take an average of 10 days while bug fixes for open source software take an average of only one day. The OS community is much more effective and efficient than any proprietary counterpart.
There were a lot more data in all of the presentations but my clear understanding after the day is that open source is not a fringe movement when it is accepted by Sun Microsystems, IBM, Novell, the Government of Canada and the EU. If these behemoths get it, then I really don’t see any more of a need to make the case for open source. The OS cluetrain has left the station.
