Authorities often have the reputation of being rigid organizations that rarely develop further. But with a constantly changing IT landscape, no authority can afford to stand still. This means that even a current version from a software manufacturer quickly becomes outdated, at least if it is not a cloud solution with regular updates. With open source, on the other hand, the code is constantly being developed and adapted to current circumstances .
In addition, the use of resources should not be neglected. Once an authority or other institution has decided on a software, changing it is very time-consuming. In addition to the high acquisition and implementation costs, there are usually also costs for the company's own IT and training employees, who generally have little desire to familiarize themselves with new systems. If the systems, once understood, keep changing, the willingness to even deal with new applications and processes dwindles. With OSS, an authority can always build on the existing system and continually adapt it to the respective requirements . Employees can therefore develop further in their familiar system and do not have to completely reorient themselves every few years because there is a better solution on the market.
For example, our own open source solution OpenEMM has been around for 15 years. Since the free version of the E-Marketing Manager is developed together with the commercial version and there are regular releases, OpenEMM is always up to date.
Open interfaces
In addition to the code, database and file formats are of czech-republic phone number data course also freely accessible . This makes it easier for an OSS to be compatible with external applications, because systems can and should rarely exist on their own. The exchange with other systems via natively open interfaces across different locations and IT systems therefore brings a great advantage in the internal and external communication of authorities. This enables them to exchange data with each other and also to merge data from different sources, interpret it accordingly and reuse it. Simple and open interfaces ensure that different authorities can network with each other and thus have comprehensive decision-making bases for assessments and planning processes, for example.
Another example is the comparison of databases in the fight against crime, for example between different police departments and with other authorities such as the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. Good and functioning communication with the support of appropriate interfaces is also in the interest of the citizen, as processing is faster and a separate application does not have to be submitted to each authority.
For free)
Open source applications are generally free because the code is freely available. This means that there are no license fees. However, it must be noted that high costs for implementation and any individual adjustments can arise, especially at the beginning. The more individual a solution is to be, the more expensive it becomes. Unfortunately, this also applies in the long term, as specific further developments will probably have to be carried out or commissioned by the company itself and will not be done by the open source community . If, on the other hand, an administration can get by with the free standard solution for the most part and only a few adjustments are necessary, open source software is significantly cheaper in the long term , as essentially only the operation costs are incurred.