Ombs memorandum on federal source code policy exposes ip ownership risk. The white house will release a draft policy thursday for sharing source code among federal agencies, including a pilot program that will make a portion of federal code open source. Use free and open source software foss, which is software that does not charge. In august 2016, omb released m1621, which seeks to ensure that new custom developed federal source code be made broadly available for reuse across the. Open source softwares source code is widely available so it may be used, copied, modified, and redistributed. The highlevel purposes of the memorandum are to promote reuse of federal contractor and employee customdeveloped code, and to improve the quality of such. Achieving efficiency, transparency, and innovation through reusable and open source software the u.
Omb m1621 a white house policy pertaining to federal source code. Omb released the longanticipated guidelines for improving how agencies share federally developed software source code on aug. Back in 2004, karen evans, ombs administrator for egovernment and it, and rob burton, associate administrator in the office of federal procurement policy, issued a memo addressing how agencies bought software. Aug 08, 2016 on github, open source software development tool, scott said omb has further emphasized in the final policy that the pilot programs 20 percent release requirement is a minimum baseline, and agencies are encouraged to go above and beyond to release as much customdeveloped code as possible. Innovation through reusable and open source software the u.
This list represents naras renewed efforts in the area of sharing open source tools for records management with federal agencies. Omb releases final memorandum emphasizing open source software requirements august 9, 2016 what. In the cfpb approach, software developed using government funds must be released as open source software unless a special waiver is granted. Open source software oss policy gsa open technology. Memorandum for the heads of departments and agencies anne. On github, open source software development tool, scott said omb has further emphasized in the final policy that the pilot programs 20. Incorporates discussion of gsas open source working. Nara recognizes that open source tools may require different degrees of customization and skills to deploy and may only address a piece of the lifecycle for managing records. Mar 09, 2016 the white house will release a draft policy thursday for sharing source code among federal agencies, including a pilot program that will make a portion of federal code open source. Office of management and budget omb promulgated an open source software oss policy via the memorandum for the. Interim open source software oss policy pdf 10 pp, 214 k, 20180111, cio 2125. Mar 11, 2016 tags custom software code draft policy featured federal agency federal government govcon office of management and budget omb open source software pilot program public comment second open. New omb policy aims to make federal agency code open source. Cio tony scott said he and his team have been honing the.
Several companies, such as red hat software and my sql, have a successful business selling opensource software along with documentation, support, and certifications that provide additional value that people are willing to pay for. Four myths about open source in government contributed. Compare the best free open source budgeting and forecasting software at sourceforge. Contract requirements must follow ombs software analysis outlined in m16 21. The office of management and budget omb released a final memorandum for the heads of departments and agencies requiring that new customdeveloped federal source code be made broadly available for reuse across the federal government. Open source software is software with source code that anyone can inspect. With thousands of oss projects made available, code. As one step to mitigate that risk, wheeler pointed to the open source software policy created by the consumer financial protection bureau cfpb. Interim open source software oss policy open government us. Omb is particularly interested in public comments on releasing custom code as open source software oss.
Omb releases final memorandum emphasizing open source. Defense department relaunches open source software. Dod said it plans to release a policy, conduct an analysis, and update the existing open source software memo by the end of 2019, but it has no plans to release 20% of its custom code as open. Four myths about open source in government contributed despite its large following, open source software suffers from persistent misconceptions. This department of commerce the department source code policy is being issued to promote software code reuse by making customdeveloped federal source code available across the department and to other federal agencies. Ombs 3rd policy memo in a week targets software purchasing. In august 2016, omb released m1621, which seeks to ensure that new customdeveloped federal source code be made broadly available for reuse across the. It is licensed with certain common restrictions, which generally differ from proprietary software. Although it is still sifting through the details of the office of management and budgets new open source software policy, one industry group is comfortable with the final product.
The pentagons chief information officer attributed the failure to meet ombs open source standards standards the sheer size of the department. Sep 10, 2019 making code available for reuse as open source can have major benefits such as decreasing costs and improving efficiencies. Transparency, and innovation through reusable and open source software. Achieving efficiency, transparency, and innovation through reusable and open source software.
Office of management and budget omb promulgated an open source software oss policy via the memorandum for the heads of departments and agencies, m1621 memorandum or m1621. Omb wants to increase agency sharing of custom software. Government is committed to improving the way federal agencies buy, build, and deliver information technology it and software solutions to better support cost efficiency, mission effectiveness, and the consumer. Within 120 days of the publication date of this policy, omb shall develop metrics to assess the impact of the pilot program. In order to meet the new requirements of the source code policy. Mar 17, 2020 companies using open source software often create a companywide policy to ensure that all staff is informed of how to use open source especially in products.
Improving the acquisition and management of common information technology. The epa is writing a new epaar clause to address open source software requirements at epa, so that the epa can share customdeveloped code as open source code developed under its procurements, in accordance with office of management and budgets omb memorandum m1621, federal source code policy. These steps are consistent with the office of management and budgets omb longstanding policy on investments in major information systems. Mobile devices and services august 4, 2016 8 pages, 151 kb. It supports the requirements of omb memorandum m1621, federal source. We must more actively participate in the open source and free software communities if we are to truly reap the benefits of oss. We are americas primary platform for aggregating open source software from the federal government.
Sep 10, 2019 deasy was more open to other recommendations from gao, including a plan to develop metrics to measure the percentage of source code that is released by dod, to set milestones for meeting certain omb open source requirements and facilitating an open source software community. The creative contribution of individual developers to help solve complex problems of impact is largely untapped by dod. Omb releases final memorandum emphasizing open source software requirements. Opensource software is not necessarily free that is, offered at no cost. Innovation through reusable and open source software. An open source policy exists to maximize the impact and benefit of using open source, and to ensure that any technical, legal or business. In august 2016, omb released m1621, which seeks to ensure that new customdeveloped. In february 2017 the defense digital service started a conversation with the free and open source software community on how the dod could better open source code, the officials said. Open source software in government homeland open security technology \host\ project. The draft policy would require new custom code developed and paid for by the government to be accessible to all federal agencies for reuse and the release of some of the new custom code to the public as open source software. Free, secure and fast budgeting and forecasting software downloads from the largest open source applications and software directory. Free open source budgeting and forecasting software. Deasy was more open to other recommendations from gao, including a plan to develop metrics to measure the percentage of source code that is released by dod, to set milestones for meeting certain omb open source requirements and facilitating an open source software community.
Omb federal source code policy to achieve efficiency, transparency and innovation through reusable and open source software oss. This reminder applies to acquisitions of all software, whether it is proprietary or open source software. Mar 10, 2016 this is the second time omb tried to emphasize the use of open source software. Cio tony scott said the program will save taxpayer dollars by avoiding duplicative software purchases, and promote innovation and collaboration. Omb finalizes policy on open source code from agencies fedscoop. Omb also plans to launch a new website called code. Office of management and budget omb promulgated an open source software oss policy via the memorandum for the heads of. Open source software oss policy policy gsa open technology. The pentagon needs to make more software open source.
Additional information on these topics will be available on code. It supports the requirements of omb memorandum m1621, federal source code. August 29, 20 this document identiies key challenges and opportunities in the government application of open source software oss, as reported in interviews of experts, suppliers, and potential users. Government is committed to improving the way federal agencies buy, build, and deliver information technology it and software. Frequently asked questions regarding open source software oss and the department of defense dod this page is an educational resource for government employees and government contractors to understand the policies and legal issues relating to the use of open source software oss in the department of defense dod. Apache openoffice formerly known as is an open source office productivity software suite containing word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, graphics, formula editor, and database management applications. Agencies shall, upon request, provide additional information to omb regarding their software license inventory, including maintenance agreements and spend on cloudbased licenses. Our implementation plan outlines our steps to comply with the omb s federal source code policy the policy. Office of management and budget omb promulgated an open source software oss policy via the memorandum for the heads of departments and agencies.
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