Despite an assertion that many federal agencies actively employ open source software, the message from a Feb. 11 open source-focused event called Tech@State hosted by the State Department was that the open source deployment in the public sector is still largely ad hoc and grass root.

"Are people really having a problem that where they work in government is saying 'we can't use open source?'" asked Greg Elin, chief data officer at the Federal Communications Commission. At which time several Tech@State attendees responded, "Yes."

But although Elin cited workaround techniques to get open source into government reminiscent of MacGyver, Elin asserted that "open source is a nonissue inside of the FCC anymore." He also appeared skeptical of the common complaint among government IT workers that open source gets pushback from management.

Still, certification and accreditation of open source software can be especially challenging within the Defense Department, said Heather Burke, an open technology development lead at Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). Burke has worked on approximately 12 open source projects, most of which have supported collaboration programs. The lessons she has learned for overcoming procurement hurdles have been just as valuable as the code her team has created, said Burke.

"For us to continue to progress it was a mentality of don't take the first 'no' you get. We began asking a lot of 'why nots?'" said Burke.

Part of the problem is that open source solutions lack the components needed to interface with the Federal Acquisition Regulation, said Elin. "We're working as hard as we can, on the inside, to do what we can. It would really be very helpful for the developers and other people to figure out what the FAR is and to create the apparatuses to meet us half way," said Elin.

For more:
- view video from Tech@State sessions

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