Massachusetts and Rhode Island are nurturing an effort that might be the catalyst for widespread deployment of open-source software for state and local governments.

            The Government Open Code Collaborative already has released a half dozen sets of open-source code and is poised to develop e-government applications, officials directing the initiative said.

            “One of the things that has come up time and time again is the lack of a really good open-source content management solution geared toward e-government,” said Jim Willis, the collaborative’s technical chairman and e-government director with the Rhode Island’s Office of the Secretary of State. “That’s an arena where the collaborative can leave a permanent mark in the landscape.”

            The ascent of open-source code could rock the government over the next decade, forcing software makers to reassess how they sell to state and local governments, and creating a demand for them to routinely develop open-source code, experts said.

            But everything needs a starting point, and analysts and industry experts agree that e-gov software applications are ripe for an open-source approach.

            “Those are great applications to standardize and allow everyone to use,” said Michael Fitzmaurice, an open-source specialist with GTSI Corp., Chantilly , Va. “They could have a big return on investment in those areas.”

            Developing applications for e-gov transactions is fairly straightforward, said Shawn McCarthy, senior analyst for government IT with market research firm IDC of Framingham, Mass. “This seems like an easy threshold to cross,” he said.

            The collaborative’s open-code repository was established in June 2004 by the two New England states and nearby universities to encourage sharing of computer code developed by government entities. The repository is part of a move by state and local governments to find ways around budget shortfalls and combat spiraling hardware and software licensing costs.

            Open-source software lets users review, modify and distribute programming and operating system computer code. Unlike proprietary software, open-source software gives users complete control of the operating system logic.

Time and effort

            Although many analysts and industry observers applaud the effort, some question whether the initiative can gain the support and widespread acceptance needed to have a profound influence on the role of open-source software in government technology. As the effort proceeds, state and local users will have to overcome nagging resource and security challenges if they are to succeed with open-source applications, they said.

            The collaborative will need plenty of time if it is to succeed, McCarthy said.

            “It’s one of those things that has incredible potential, but the question is whether it will ever reach a critical mass of participants to make it work,” he said.

            State and local government has the “muscle and will” to make open-source code applications succeed, said Jim Krouse, state and local market analyst for market research firm Input Inc. of Reston, Va. “Governments have the power to map out their own destiny,” he said.

            After spending nearly seven months getting the proper legal framework in place for sharing open code, the collaborative is deciding which other sets of applications to develop, said Peter Quinn, the collaborative’s chairman and Massachusetts ’ chief information officer.

            Although some members of the initiative have shown a keen interest in e-government software applications, the collaborative hasn’t formally determined its next step, Quinn said.

            “We are looking at a broad brush” approach, he said. “We’re beating the bushes trying to get some more code.”

            The initiative was founded by a group of seven states and four municipalities that have member status. More than 100 entities participate as observers. The members can both deposit and withdraw code. A participating observer, if it is a U.S. government agency, can withdraw code at no cost, Quinn said.

            Half the battle in developing open-source software for government is getting the right people to the table, Willis said.

            “It’s amazing how many people want to do collaborative development but just don’t know where to start with it,” he said. “We’ve given some thought to that framework, and hopefully that is enough for it to take root.”

            A collaborative approach is essential for such an effort to succeed, because of the time and resources it requires, said Andrea Di Maio, a research vice president with market research and consulting firm Gartner Inc. of Stamford , Conn.

            “No authority can develop open-source applications alone,” he said. “For that model to work, you must have a community of developers that cuts across different cities and states.”

            The largest software application available through the initiative is RSSonate, which uses Really Simple Syndication feeds to let citizens access real-time data on anything on a government Web site, Willis said.

            “We made a big investment in time and mental bandwidth developing it,” he said.

            Other available applications help users file notices and minutes of open meetings, display large lists on Web sites, monitor system and network-delivered services for availability and work from a virtual law office.  

            Although the collaborative isn’t allowing private sector companies to participate in the effort, it doesn’t preclude them from donating open-source code to the repository and establishing themselves as subject matter experts in a particular area, Quinn said.

            “If you have a compelling application, and people find out about it, then you probably would make more money over time than you ever could marketing it” to each state or local government, he said. “It’s a different paradigm, that’s all.”

Software backlash

            The push for open-source software applications is fed by “an immense amount of displeasure” in the public and private sectors over having to buy routine upgrades to enterprise resource planning software and other large applications, Quinn said.

            “Why in God’s name do we go out and build the same [applications] at horrendous prices?” Quinn said. When it comes to software upgrades, customers rarely get a significant return on investment, he said.

            The large software companies are watching to see how efforts such as the collaborative unfold in coming years, McCarthy said.

            “No one is nervous at this point,” he said. “I don’t think anybody is worried about the next five years. Beyond that, who knows?”

            Krouse sympathizes with the customer viewpoint. “No one wants to be held hostage by the same company,” he said.

            However, he questions the ability of state and local government to develop multiple open-source software applications when in the immediate future they will be facing an acute shortage of technical expertise.

            “I don’t believe that collaboratives are going to be the end-all,” Krouse said. “They are going to be a catalyst and probably end up doing some valuable research, but I don’t see them having the manpower to develop strong code even if they do want to share it. … It’s more likely with the continuing interest in open source that they will contract this work out.”

            McCarthy agreed that the impact on systems integrators would be minimal.

            “I don’t believe it will make any difference to the IT service providers, because they make their money doing software installation and customization,” he said.

            But GTSI’s Fitzmaurice said that systems integrators need to get up to speed with open source more quickly.

            “Most are behind the curve, because their size works against them,” he said. To compensate, they are partnering with smaller, more nimble companies that specialize in open source, he said.

            Most IT systems and software are adaptable to an open-source approach, Fitzmaurice said. The only areas in which it wouldn’t be practical are financial systems for privacy and security reasons and desktops where the economics of converting to open source would be impractical.

            “Almost everything else in between could be a target for open source,” he said.