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Factors influencing open source software adoption

This document explores the factors influencing the adoption of open source software (OSS) in the statistical industry. It discusses the stages of OSS adoption, the evolution of OSS usage, and offers insights on successful OSS adoption strategies. It also highlights the importance of managing change, provides a procurement example, and presents the statistical industry's view on OSS adoption. Additionally, it identifies the characteristics of OSS that are most important to statistical organizations and offers good practices for deploying OSS.

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Factors influencing open source software adoption

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  1. Factors influencing open source software adoption Meeting on the Management of Statistical Information Systems (MSIS 2014) Dublin, Ireland and Manila, Philippines 14-16 April 2014 Brian Buffett, Head of Statistical Services & Technology

  2. Overview • Context • Innovation as a process • Open Source Software adoption • The Statistical Industry • Summary

  3. Context • Perspective of software adopters – not producers • Explore statistical agency adoption of OSS • Messages for ‘industry built’ software sharing initiatives?

  4. Industry agnostic view

  5. Stages of Innovation Adoption • Stages of <Open Source Software> adoption • Unaware of Open Source Software (OSS) • Aware of OSS but not in the specific area (business or technical) • Seeking information about OSS in the area • Aware of OSS in the area, considering (possible exit point) • Piloting OSS (possible exit point) • Using OSS in production • Moving through the stages relies on the accumulation of knowledge • From external sources • From internal experiences & projects • Individuals are fundamental to the process

  6. Evolution • The majority of organisations who consider OSS end up adopting it • Once organisations start using OSS, usage expands from simple applications to mission-critical applications • Once organisations have adopted OSS for a wide range of applications, it is no longer viewed the same – it begins to be treated the same as commercial software • Once that point is reached, OSS is evaluated against the same criteria as commercial (COTS) s/w and must meet the same requirements and standards

  7. Towards successful OSS adoptionManaging Change • Build support for the initiative • Identify & address internal barriers • Identify risks • Impart skills and knowledge on teams which will be affected • Introduce governance • Adapt purchasing policies • NOTE: OSS has a specific culture and there are champions, detractors and neutral persons regardless of a specific business case

  8. Procurement example • Government (or Agency) procurement, asset management & requirements specification will need to evolve to support OSS and industry sharing models • Example from UK Government ICT Procurement Guide • Evaluation is to be based on best value and consider commercial and OSS solutions equally. In case of ties, OSS wins • Example of requirements to be considered: • Security • Scalability • Minimum and essential functionality • Transferability • Manageability • Maintenance & support requirements • Total cost of ownership, including exit and transition costs

  9. Statistical Industry View Summary of Results

  10. Where are organisations focussing their efforts – top ranked goals • Improve integration between applications • Increase process-oriented statistical production (reduce silos) • Reduce IT costs • Increase industrialisation of statistics • Increase collaboration with other statistical agencies • Adopt or increase use of DDI and/or SDMX standards • Use IT to increase innovation

  11. Policy • Eleven (out of 43) organisations have organizational policies regarding OSS adoption and use. • Policy orientation: • Ten policies are oriented in favour of OSS adoption • One policy is neutral

  12. Statistical OrganisationsOpenness to OSS

  13. Statistical Organisations and the Innovation Adoption Stages

  14. The official statistics industry • Has shared goals and this was confirmed by the study • Is widely researching, evaluating, and using OSS • consistent with high rate of adoption in entire public sector • Is using OSS in all areas of statistical operations • Is planning to increase OSS usage in the next 48 months • Views best practices as important but has not implemented them / is not implementing them • Identified OSS having lower operating costs than COTS • Identified the same major concerns as other industries • Availability of service and support • Security

  15. Which characteristics of OSS are most important? • Highest level of agreement across staff roles • Ability to use OSS without restrictions • Support in OSS of open standards • Ability to reduce dependencies on vendors • Highest variance between staff roles • Ability to view and modify source code • Ability to create and distribute derivative works • Ability to participate in & contribute to OSS development • Ability to participate in & contribute to OSS communities

  16. Good Practices when Deploying OSS • Managing maintenance and support costs • Having rules governing OSS development, maintenance, security, and support • Having guidelines & approval processes for choosing OSS products prior to adoption • Rating & ranking OSS risks and mitigating those risks • Monitoring the OSS community to ensure adequate development & support of components used by the agency • Ensuring relevant internal skills in OSS development or operations • Establishing a support model for the OSS product/solution • Establishing internal development, testing, and change management processes for OSS

  17. Greatest Concerns regarding OSS • Availability of service and support • Security of the software • Lack of relevant internal skills and knowledge of OSS (development and operations) • Product Immaturity • Inability of OSS to help meet business goals

  18. Services from external companies re. OSS • In highest demand • Consulting • Integrating multiple OSS components • Training • Lifecycle support • Integrating OSS with other software • Lowest demand • Legal support • OSS operations • Certification of OSS • OSS selection

  19. Security • Consistently ranked as a top concern across all industries • Security evaluations by specialist firms found security to be comparable between OSS and COTS s/w • OSS is not more or less secure than COTS • Heartbleedopensslbackdoor notwithstanding!

  20. Summary • Innovation adoption is a process – barriers, risks, elements to manage all change as organisation changes • People are critical to the process • Major concerns are maintenance/support and security & security of OSS is equivalent to COTS • Statistics agencies need to carefully evaluate the true lifecycle costs of OSS vs other models • OSS adoption could provide good lessons for industry sharing initiatives • Efforts to increase software sharing could benefit from targeting assistance at the various process stages

  21. Thank You! Brian Buffett Head of Statistical Services & Technology Email: b.buffett@unesco.org

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