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US Navy's new policy: Only open software
The US Navy is betting the farm on open source and open standards. Why aren't enterprises following suit in greater numbers?
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The US Navy just announced a bold IT policy: no more proprietary software:
"The days of proprietary technology must come to an end," [Vice Admiral Mark Edwards, deputy chief of naval operations for communications] said. "We will no longer accept systems that couple hardware, software and data."
The reasons? Innovation and cost are considered superior when delivered by open source and open standards:
"We can't accept the increasing costs of maintaining our present-day capabilities," Edwards said. "In the civilian marketplace, it's just the opposite. Some private-sector concerns are cutting their costs by 90 percent while expanding their performance."
Edwards goes on to suggest that staying ahead of the IT innovation game is a matter of national security. The same holds true for private enterprises: those that dump money into the trash can of proprietary software are doing themselves and their customers a disservice.
The open-source savvy shall inherit the earth.
