The public sector has been told it must consider using open source software in the strongest signal yet that the government believes it is a viable alternative.
According to the Open Source Software Use Within UK Government consultation paper from the Office of the e-Envoy, value for money and adherence to open standards should be considered key criteria for software purchases in the public sector.
"UK government will only use products for interoperability that support open standards. UK government will seek to avoid lock-in to proprietary IT products and services," the paper stated.
"Open source software is the start of a fundamental change in the software infrastructure market. It is not a bubble that will burst, and the UK government must take cognisance of that fact."
The report also mandates the use of open source software for government R&D use, albeit with some qualifications.
However, the paper has been criticised by the Initiative for Software Choice (ISC), part of the Computer Technology Industry Association.
Hugo Lueders, the ISC's EMEA director, said the terms of the paper mean the government's default recommendation for all R&D is open source.
"Flirting with any kind of default is very dangerous. Such a political objective makes for [software] misuse," said Lueders.
"The government's position in its summer 2002 policy document was what was needed: contracts awarded on value for money."
In contrast, Peter Dawes-Huish, sales director at consultancy LinuxIT, welcomed the move. "One of the benefits [of Linux] is you know what's going on and can identify failure during testing," he said.
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