In its submission to the ongoing call for evidence and public consultation on the Public procurement directives, APELL recommends that in all IT procurement, Open Source be the default, that joint procurement be further encouraged, and that it also inform the IT practices of public authorities themselves by making sharing the default.
APELL – The European Open Source Software Business Association and its members represent hundreds of Open Source businesses with a collective turnover in the order of several tens of billions of euros each year, as well as public administrations, research institutions, and individuals throughout Europe.
Open Source technology is based on granting the freedoms to use, study, share, and improve technology based on it. These freedoms are granted by way of an Open Source licence.
Public authorities benefit from procuring Open Source as it allows for them to switch service providers over time as required, and avoids them being locked-in to a single vendor. It contributes to the technological sovereignty goals of reducing dependencies, and increasing control and insight into technology used. Beyond that, investments into Open Source technology benefit society and businesses in Europe, as they contribute back to technology that forms the basis for 90% of business software projects.
