| Australians are notoriously ingenious, capable of solving problems large and small with whatever materials and ideas we have to hand. We're great at “do it yourself” and “give it a whirl”, which is precisely why we have been so successful in the application and development of Open Source ideas and technology. Open Source software is developed by individuals and companies around the world, sharing their ideas and work in a form of enlightened self-interest. What I, as an individual and in my work, have contributed to the world of Open Source has been repaid many times over by the contributions of others, many of which I benefit from every day. Open Source describes both a methodology and the technology itself, and is the earliest and most influential success story in large-scale Internet peer-production. Great examples of world-beating Open Source include: The Ubuntu operating system, the GNOME desktop user interface, the Linux kernel, the Samba file server (created here), the Apache web server and the Firefox web browser. Australians are involved, and in many cases have a leading role, in all of these projects and more. Google - regarded by many as the dial-tone of the Internet - was able to scale up “from garage to global” using Open Source software, and applies many lessons learned from the Open Source community to their own governance and development processes. An enormous amount of Open Source technology is used to give you Google search results every day. Open Source technologies and methodologies can be used as a force multiplier for Australian ideas. Alone, we do not have the strength in numbers or scale to effectively take on the world. But by building our great ideas upon the shared work of the world's Open Source community, and creating open, collaborative communities around our ideas, we can give ourselves an impressive head start. Opportunities for Open Source in Australia's future: * Mandate Government agencies and encourage Australian business to use and publish information in openly accessible, openly implementable standards-based formats. This will reduce our dependency on proprietary technology, and encourage sharing of information. * Publish most information created or collected by Australian Government under Open Source or Open Content licenses. The USA has a thriving geospatial industry built on public domain mapping data published by US Government agencies. Open innovation built on such information can create industries, and generate new business for Australian companies, giving us experience to take on world markets. * Encourage our educational institutions to publish and participate in Open Source projects, providing students with important practical technology skills, and an understanding of how to participate in a collaborative, open development environment. * Adopt Open Source practices and methodology in every area of Australian innovation and research & development. Publish our ideas for public good, and build open, collaborative communities around them to foster further use, development and commercialisation. Our major research organisations are only just beginning to see the opportunities here. Jeff Waugh Waugh Partners |
Last modified: Thursday, 10 April 2008, 01:53 PM
