Four-State ICFOSS-IIMB Study Launched

November 19, 2012:  ICFOSS, Trivandrum, and IIM Bangalore are collaborating on a joint study on the use of Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) in e-Governance, covering the four states of Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar and UP. The study will bring out the extent of use of FOSS in Government projects in these states and attempt to assess the economics of the FOSS approach.

The study is being supported by IIM Bangalore, which is focused on research, consulting, teaching and training efforts on management issues concerning multiple industries including the Indian and Global Software Industry.

“While FOSS provides a viable, robust and cost-effective alternative for e-governance projects, there is still wide variation between different states of the country in the deployment of FOSS. While States such as Kerala lead the nation in FOSS adoption, many others are lagging behind due to various reasons.”, says Prof. Rahul Dé, the Hewlett-Packard Chair Professor in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Sustainable Economic Development,  IIM Bangalore, who is the lead researcher of the joint study.

“The joint study with ICFOSS builds on a previous study that was carried out several years back, and seeks to update the status, and will be of great use to State and Central governments in their choice of software strategy. With the 2012 Government of India Software Policy providing explicit support for FOSS, it becomes imperative for e-government applications to consider FOSS”, added Prof.  Dé.

An earlier study carried out in 2009 by IIM Bangalore on the Economic Impact of Free and Open Source Software had found abundant potential for financial savings for Governments, by switching to FOSS.

Besides the financial advantage, FOSS has several other benefits such as the liberal user licenses, freedom to localize and customize software, and community support. Much of the emerging areas in computing such as supercomputing, mobile computing and cloud computing is dominated by FOSS-based technology

“A key step in mainstreaming FOSS is its promotion for use in Governments. While the economic benefits of FOSS are well-known, the lesser-known features such as avoidance of vendor lock-in, security & safety, robustness and scalability, make it uniquely placed to meet the stringent requirements of Governments. This has been proven by numerous applications, including several award-winning applications in Kerala and other states”, said Satish Babu, Director, ICFOSS.

The study will commence from November 2012 and will take about 18 months for its completion.