US GOVERNMENT PRESSURED TO BUY MORE OPEN SOURCE SOFTWARE

By M.S.Welles

Even as Microsoft introduces the Windows 7 operating system, Google and 49 other companies are banding together into the Open Source for America coalition.

The purpose of the coalition is to pressure the federal government to buy more open source software. One of the methods for doing this is to target government no-bid renewals of Microsoft products.

After taking over the market from WordPerfect and Lotus 123, Microsoft products have remained dominant in the operating system and Office apps arena. As a result, then government was allowed to renew Microsoft contracts without sending them out to bid.

Although Microsoft remains a monopoly due to the market share it controls, open source vendors are challenging the company and insisting that they have a right to bid on the contracts and compete in the marketplace.

The federal government spends billions on software and by insisting on the bidding process and their inclusion in it, open source vendors stand to reap the rewards financially.