research-article

An investigation into the implementation of open source software within the SA government: an emerging expansion model

Authors:

Elmarie BiermannAuthors Info & Claims

SAICSIT '08: Proceedings of the 2008 annual research conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists on IT research in developing countries: riding the wave of technology

Pages 148 - 158

https://doi.org/10.1145/1456659.1456677

Published: 06 October 2008 Publication History

Abstract

Open source software (OSS) is increasingly becoming an alternative for proprietary software (PS), particularly in the government sector globally. The adoption and implementation of OSS by the government sector is cited as one of the enablers for the adoption of OSS by the private sector. It is also apparent that in the government sector internationally, OSS is seen as a viable technology for reasons such as lowering software costs, growing local software development industry, and bridging the digital divide. In South Africa (SA), an OSS policy that mandates OSS usage within ministries is in place. But according to various open source advocates, little has happened with regards to OSS implementation in the SA government. This paper reports on the current status of OSS usage within the SA government by surveying forty (40) national departments, targeting Information Technology (IT) directors and managers. The results indicate that OSS usage within the ministries is not yet extensive as required by the OSS policy. Various challenges and obstacles are hampering full OSS implementation within the ministries. The contribution of this research paper is an OSS expansion model, which is proposed as a possible solution to improve the current status of OSS usage within the SA government departments. The model proposed is in line with SA government's implementation strategy as outlined in the OSS policy.

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Cited By

Sobhani RSeifzadeh HGandomani T(2018)A Review of Migration Processes to Open Source SoftwareInternational Journal of Open Source Software and Processes10.4018/IJOSSP.20180101029:1(20-31)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.4018/IJOSSP.2018010102
Noroozi ESeifzadeh H(2018)Proposing novel measures to alleviate the risks of migration to open source softwareProceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Modeling and Simulation10.1145/3177457.3177478(134-139)Online publication date: 8-Jan-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3177457.3177478
Hamid AAbdullah NIdrus R(2016)Framework for successful Open Source Software implementation in the Malaysian Public Sector2016 International Conference On Advanced Informatics: Concepts, Theory And Application (ICAICTA)10.1109/ICAICTA.2016.7803143(1-6)Online publication date: Aug-2016
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICAICTA.2016.7803143
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Index Terms

An investigation into the implementation of open source software within the SA government: an emerging expansion model
1. Computing methodologies
  1. Modeling and simulation
    1. Model development and analysis
2. Social and professional topics
  1. Computing / technology policy
    1. Government technology policy
  2. Professional topics
    1. Management of computing and information systems
      1. Software management

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SAICSIT '08: Proceedings of the 2008 annual research conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists on IT research in developing countries: riding the wave of technology

October 2008

304 pages

ISBN:9781605582863

DOI:10.1145/1456659

Program Chairs:
Reinhardt Botha
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
,
Charmain Cilliers
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa

Copyright © 2008 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Published: 06 October 2008

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SAICSIT '08: 2008 Annual Conference of the South African Institute of Computer Scientists and Information Technologists

October 6 - 8, 2008

Wilderness, South Africa

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Cited By

Sobhani RSeifzadeh HGandomani T(2018)A Review of Migration Processes to Open Source SoftwareInternational Journal of Open Source Software and Processes10.4018/IJOSSP.20180101029:1(20-31)Online publication date: 1-Jan-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.4018/IJOSSP.2018010102
Noroozi ESeifzadeh H(2018)Proposing novel measures to alleviate the risks of migration to open source softwareProceedings of the 10th International Conference on Computer Modeling and Simulation10.1145/3177457.3177478(134-139)Online publication date: 8-Jan-2018
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3177457.3177478
Hamid AAbdullah NIdrus R(2016)Framework for successful Open Source Software implementation in the Malaysian Public Sector2016 International Conference On Advanced Informatics: Concepts, Theory And Application (ICAICTA)10.1109/ICAICTA.2016.7803143(1-6)Online publication date: Aug-2016
https://doi.org/10.1109/ICAICTA.2016.7803143
Mahapatra RManzar RBhadauria V(2015)Adoption and Use of Open Source Infrastructure Software by Large CorporationsJournal of Database Management10.4018/JDM.201510010126:4(1-17)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2015
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.4018/JDM.2015100101
Jokonya OHardman S(2013)Boundary Critique and Stakeholder Collaboration in Open Source Software MigrationKnowledge and Technological Development Effects on Organizational and Social Structures10.4018/978-1-4666-2151-0.ch012(194-208)Online publication date: 2013
https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-2151-0.ch012
Ouattara HOuoba JBissyandé T(2013)Open Source in Africa: An Opportunity Wasted?e-Infrastructure and e-Services for Developing Countries10.1007/978-3-642-41178-6_19(184-188)Online publication date: 2013
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-41178-6_19
Jokonya OHardman S(2011)Boundary Critique and Stakeholder Collaboration in Open Source Software MigrationInternational Journal of Sociotechnology and Knowledge Development10.4018/jskd.20111001013:4(1-14)Online publication date: 1-Oct-2011
https://doi.org/10.4018/jskd.2011100101
Ward DTao E(2010)Open Source Software Use in City GovernmentMachine Learning and Systems Engineering10.1007/978-90-481-9419-3_8(97-109)Online publication date: 9-Sep-2010
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9419-3_8

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