OpenSource in State and Local Government
July 1st, 2003
Here is a series of articles (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) about using opensource software in State and Local Government. Here is a quote from the third article:
… imagine a web site for government applications. Instead of building one from scratch, we can put up a LAMP application for each government function that others can download. Suddenly, you have a resource center. If someone needs a 911-call center application, they probably could choose from several.
Not only can state and local governments benefit from free software, but they can also benefit from a community of developers who are creating “pluggable” applications that can be integrated easily and modified if necessary.
I see the following as the necessary combination of components for state and local governments to base their web infrastructure on:
- A content management system that allows non-technical users to update content on the website. Ideally, this would use existing directory infrastructure (i.e. eDirectory, LDAP, ActiveDirectory) to manage users and security.
- eGovernment Apps (built on an open API) that would allow sharing of these components and could be easily integrated and modified to meet each organizations’ individual needs.
- A user-centric portal system for providing personalized services to various roles: such as government employees, citizens, other government agencies, suppliers & vendors.
- Platform agnostic. (able to run on Windows, Linux, Mac, Solaris…whatever!)
- Datasource agnostic. (meaning that it uses abstraction to connect to any datasource whether it is Oracle, MySQL, or LDAP)
- Also the sytem must be scalable (both forward and backward), meaning that it could support a large government organization at the state level as well as being able to adapt to the smallest of local governments.
Now if I could find an opensource system that meets all of these qualifications, I would be one happy camper!