Another reason to like open source software
It fights corruption and waste. Or, rather it can mitigate against it. At least when it comes to procurement of computer services in government and business.
A classic case which I have seen with my own eyes. A senior manager retires early and returns to his old employer not six months later as an information technology consultant, brochure in hand.
Always a bit of a gadget freak, said same senior manager hooked up with a not so technically skilled IT contractor who had a knack nonetheless for landing contracts and created a company, branded especially to get their feet in the doors of his former employer.
The federal public service has rules against this, but never mind. The point is about open source software.
Whether it’s a former manager using undue influence to get the company to buy crap, or whether it’s a smooth salesperson using kickbacks to get the company to buy crap, the company or the organization still ends up buying crap.
Open source is peer-reviewed and collaborative. That doesn’t mean a sleazy manager can’t hire a relative to develop some open source crap.
But it does mean that other eyes will be watching, and if ever someone opens their eyes to see that, say, manager’s relative has introduced several race conditions into some open source package in the name of “customizing” it, the company will have something to fall back on.
I really do like the idea of open source software foundations (for private sector) and consortia or co-operatives (for public sector). The collaborative direction and leadership by committee will be scary. But it’s no worse than going into an organization with competing demands and trying to suss out whose needs to meet first.
It would allow organizations to pool scarce resources to get things done. The open source model would allow the consortium/foundation to retain all knowledge and effort. And it would mean organizations don’t have to roll the dice when greeting slick sales people with a trunk full of boxed CDs.
