Government simplifies purchasing open source software

The government has adjusted the purchasing conditions for ICT suppliers, making it easier to purchase open source applications. Ownership of the software no longer needs to be transferred.

The amendments to the standard contract for ICT services are relatively minor, but can have major consequences for providers of open source software. From now on, this software will be referred to as ‘standard software’ instead of ‘custom software’, which means that ownership of the software does not have to be transferred to the government. Instead, it is put into use.

The problem with open source software was that many suppliers provide code that is not, or at least not wholly, their property. Much software is covered by licenses intended for open source software such as the gpl or the Apache license. Under the standard terms, it therefore becomes possible that software covered by such licenses may also be supplied. A supplier no longer needs to know in detail who owns which piece of software.