Open source Document Management Systems and Formats Document

Open source Open Standards

A document’s ‘format’ is the structure used to store it and the data it contains. Historically, the formats used for proprietary systems have often been ‘closed’, so documents created using one piece of proprietary software could not be recognised by another. This made it costly and time consuming to switch to another software product and often resulted in a ‘lock-in’ to one product. However, there is now a trend towards introducing open standards for document formats that can be used by all software developers. Open standards offer a guarantee that the data will be accessible in the future. Industry is taking measures to increase both document interoperability and digital rights management (DRM) interoperability (see below). Advocates of OSS argue that, by making source-code available with the software, the risk of lock-in is avoided because document formats are transparent.

Digital rights management (DRM) technologies Concerns over the illegal copying and distribution of digital information (music, video, etc.) have led companies to introduce a range of DRM measures. They allow content vendors to control electronic material and restrict its use. Examples include encryption methods used to prevent DVDs from being copied, or to prevent unauthorised access to data in a database. Such systems prevent infringement of IP. However, there are concerns that DRM technologies can act as another layer of proprietary lock-in. Attempting to break or counter a DRM technology is now a criminal offence under the EC Copyright Directive. Critics argue that this could prevent users from extracting data from one system (even if they own it) in order to transfer it to another, especially if this involves bypassing a DRM technology.

Open source culture
The principle of open source can be applied to a variety of other applications as well as software development. Some commentators believe that several sectors of government and industry could benefit from the open source approach (Box 4). The ideas behind it are spreading into pharmaceutical drug production; music; book and journal publishing; television broadcasting and many other cultural areas. The BBC is planning to make some material available in a ‘Creative Archive’ for viewing, copying and reuse but with some rights reserved, such as commercial exploitation.

Key Points
• Acceptance of open source software is increasing in both the public and private sector. The Office of
Government Commerce report states that it is a viable and credible alternative to proprietary software
for infrastructure and for most desktop users.

• The government’s OSS policy promotes a ‘level playing field’ in which OSS solutions should be
considered alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements.

• It is increasingly acknowledged that there is a role for both open source and proprietary approaches and that a combination of both approaches stimulates creativity and innovation.

Box 4. Open Source and Transparency

Some researchers and think tanks, such as Demos, believe that open source can contribute to a more vibrant democratic culture. Just as laws can be scrutinised by the general public, the ability to see the ‘code’ would mean that governmental processes could be laid open for inspection.

Examples include:
• Tax and benefits: under the Open Government Code and the Freedom of Information Act, the general public may have the right to know how a particular tax or benefit has been calculated. Open source may help achieve this, as having access to the source-code allows calculations to be read and checked;

• E-voting: with the transition to e-voting, political parties or the public might wish to inspect any software used in the process to counter electoral fraud or vote-rigging. Some say that OSS is one possible way of doing this because the source-code is freely available to anyone wishing to scrutinise it.

• Public participation in Parliament: some innovative projects have been developed using OSS. Examples include the websites, ‘They Work For You’, which presents Hansard debates and Written Answers and ‘The Public Whip’, which details MP voting records. These sites search the contents of Hansard and present it in an easy to read format for the public.