119 líneas
5.6 KiB
HTML
119 líneas
5.6 KiB
HTML
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
|
|
|
|
<html>
|
|
<head>
|
|
<title>FSFE's submission to the UK Open Standards Proposal 2014</title>
|
|
<meta content="FSFE's submission to the UK Open Standards Proposal 2014" name="description" />
|
|
<meta content="Open standards UK submission ICT Futures team Cabinet Office European interoperability framework Declaration on Standards Future of the Internet Document Freedom Day Definition Emerging Standards FSFE" name="keywords"/>
|
|
</head>
|
|
|
|
<body>
|
|
<p id="category"><a href="http://www.fsfe.org/work.html">Our Work</a> /
|
|
<a href="/activities/os/os.html">Overview of Open Standards</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<h1>Submission to UK Open Standards Proposal 2014</h1>
|
|
|
|
<div id="introduction">
|
|
<p>
|
|
This is FSFE's submission to the <a href="http://standards.data.gov.uk/proposal/sharing-collaborating-government-documents">UK Open
|
|
Standards Proposal</a>, held by the Standards Hub in Cabinet Office,
|
|
submitted on 28th January 2014.
|
|
</p>
|
|
</div>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<a href="http://fsfe.org">Free Software Foundation Europe</a> has long
|
|
advocated the use of Open Standards in government. We applaud this
|
|
proposal by the UK government.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Most governments are suffering the effects of lock-in in their IT
|
|
infrastructure: high costs, dependence on a single ultimate supplier,
|
|
no strategic freedom. This all but eliminates meaningful competition
|
|
among suppliers, and stifles technological progress. In addition,
|
|
these governments often end up imposing on the citizens they serve
|
|
(and on other organisations they cooperate with) an obligation to
|
|
acquire the same non-free programs that the government uses.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
In contrast, the UK government stands out not just for its
|
|
determination to break free and make real competition among suppliers
|
|
possible, but also for having an integrated strategy for doing so. The
|
|
present proposal is a central building block of this strategy, along
|
|
with a clear and strong <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/open-standards-principles/open-standards-principles#open-standard---definition"
|
|
>definition of Open Standards</a>, the recently announced <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-draws-the-line-on-bloated-and-wasteful-it-contracts"
|
|
>red lines</a> for IT contracts, and other elements.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
We applaud the UK Government's approach of focusing on standards
|
|
rather than products, and relying on a strong definition of Open
|
|
Standards to ensure that there will be significant competition among
|
|
suppliers for any software products that the government may wish to
|
|
use.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
An important feature of the present proposal is that it relies on a
|
|
thorough and comprehensive <a href="https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2014/01/29/government-documents-understanding-what-users-need/"
|
|
>study of the actual user needs</a>. This greatly increases the chances
|
|
that the proposal can be successfully implemented, and that any new tools
|
|
deployed will be well matched to the requirements of their users.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
The proposed standards (HTML (4.01, 5 or higher); TXT; CSV; ODF (1.1
|
|
or higher)) each address a different technical need. The UK Government
|
|
is correct in focusing on a single Open Standard for each category and
|
|
purpose.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
Competition takes place on top of standards, not between them.
|
|
Especially with regards to documents produced in office suites,
|
|
concentrating on a single Open Standard will ensure that all suppliers
|
|
can compete on an equal basis. In the mid to long term, the demand
|
|
created by the UK government, and any others following in its
|
|
footsteps, is bound to lead to significant improvements in the way
|
|
office suites work - an area where progress has been all but absent
|
|
for about a decade.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
We agree with Francis Maude's assessment, from a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/sprint-14-speech-by-francis-maude"
|
|
>speech</a> delivered on January 29 this year, that "the adoption of open
|
|
standards in government threatens the power of lock-in to proprietary
|
|
vendors yet it will give departments the power to choose what is right
|
|
for them and the citizens who use their services."
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
In closing, we reiterate our support for the UK Government's proposed
|
|
approach. Ultimately, any strategy is only as good as its
|
|
implementation. We would thus like to express our hope that the
|
|
government will follow through on implementing this approach across
|
|
all of its branches. FSFE remains available to support this effort.
|
|
</p>
|
|
|
|
<h2>For further information about FSFE's work on Open Standards:</h2>
|
|
|
|
<ul>
|
|
<li><a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/os/def.en.html">FSFE`s definition of Open Standards</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/os/os.en.html">Overview of FSFE`s work on Open Standards</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/os/ps.en.html">Analysis on balance: Standardisation and Patents</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/os/bsa-letter-analysis.en.html">Defending Open Standards: FSFE refutes BSA's false claims to European Commission</a></li>
|
|
<li><a href="http://fsfe.org/activities/policy/igf/sovsoft.en.html">Open Standards, Free Software, and the Internet</a></li>
|
|
</ul>
|
|
|
|
</body>
|
|
|
|
<timestamp>$Date: 2012-04-21 17:12:14 +0200 (Sat, 21 Apr 2012) $ $Author: samtuke $</timestamp>
|
|
</html>
|
|
<!--
|
|
Local Variables: ***
|
|
mode: xml ***
|
|
End: ***
|
|
-->
|