Overcoming barriers to Open Source procurement in the European Union

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Every year, public authorities in the European Union spend around 14% of annual GDP on services, works and goods. As European governments continue to digitalize, a growing share of this spending is on digital solutions. Sadly, few of these solutions are built on Open Source software, but that might be about to change: the EU has just started a review of European public procurement rules, and have asked for input on potential changes to the rules. We responded advocating for changes to dismantle these barriers and ensure Open Source solutions are fairly considered.

Why public procurement matters for Open Source

Open Source underpins almost 90% of the software used around the world today, but very little of the money used for public procurement reaches Open Source developers. Meanwhile, the Open Source community faces the challenge of achieving sustainability whilst having to comply with a flurry of new laws and regulations, such as the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act.

If the European Union dismantles the barriers to procurement of Open Source software, it could create numerous opportunities for Open Source projects in Europe and around the world, giving them the financial backing and support needed to achieve sustainability, and accelerating their development.

Why Open Source matters to the EU

The European Union and its member states also face new challenges: the current geopolitical context has forced a change in approach, and the consideration of the continent’s strategic autonomy when it comes to public procurement of software and digital services.

In our letter to the European Commission, we highlight how the nature of Open Source allows governments and public authorities to achieve autonomy without isolationism, trust the software they use, host it where they want, and avoid vendor lock-in.

We also explained how Open Source solutions foster a more competitive market by preventing vendor lock-in and encouraging suppliers to consistently provide the best solutions at the best prices. The ability to freely modify Open Source software also makes it more flexible and adaptable to specific needs, benefiting both public authorities and the wider community.

But above all, we highlighted the societal benefit of procuring Open Source solutions: public authorities spend once, but the benefit of that spending is multiplied, because the money spent on improving the software benefits everyone, from citizens to businesses and even other public authorities. Done right, it can also create economic benefits and high-quality jobs within the EU, contributing to Europe’s digital independence and technological expertise.

Recognize the barriers to Open Source software procurement

Despite the benefits, there are barriers to the procurement of Open Source solutions. For example, in many countries, governments provide templates for public authorities to prepare their tender requests, but these templates are often designed with proprietary software in mind, meaning they contain conditions and questions that aren’t relevant to Open Source suppliers, or even prevent Open Source suppliers from participating.

There are also issues with what public authorities ask for: often they are already locked into proprietary ecosystems, or only know these ecosystems, and so the conditions of their tender mention specific proprietary solutions or standards, excluding Open Source by default.

One other issue is that many of the advantages of Open Source software (control and trust, interoperability, societal benefit, long-term cost and versatility) are not yet considered in the procurement process, whose focus is on immediate cost.

Finally, one other significant challenge is that public authorities don’t necessarily know which suppliers of Open Source software are actively contributing to the Open Source projects they supply. Helping public authorities evaluate if a company is actually contributing upstream is important, because this unlocks many of the benefits of Open Source for public authorities, while making Open Source projects more sustainable.

How to break down the barriers to Open Source software procurement 

Experience shows that simply mandating Open Source doesn’t break down these barriers. In our letter we suggest going further, to address the environmental factors that hinder Open Source procurement, such as the prevalence of proprietary standards and software requirements. By prohibiting the use of patent-encumbered or proprietary standards in defining project needs and focusing on standards that meet Open Standards Requirements, we can make it possible for Open Source projects to compete for tenders.

We also suggest that public authorities should be prohibited from requiring specific proprietary software solutions in their tenders, ensuring that the procurement process is open and fair. Additionally we propose that interoperability, reusability, vendor lock-in, and digital sovereignty should be considered systemic criteria for procurement. Public authorities should also consider exit strategies and the associated costs, evaluating how challenging it would be to migrate data or switch suppliers. This includes considering the total cost of ownership, encompassing not just the initial procurement cost but also the lifetime expenses, including support, upgrades, and potential migration or exit costs.

Another core proposal we make is to mandate interoperability through open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). We believe that this can not only help to prevent lock-in, but can also give Open Source solutions a chance to compete with proprietary alternatives and give public authorities a way out of vendor lock-ins.

Finally, we recognize and underline the need to guarantee that the chosen supplier actually contributes upstream, and suggest evaluating a supplier’s contribution to the Open Source project as part of the procurement criteria to further encourage a collaborative and sustainable Open Source ecosystem. By providing public authorities with guidelines on how to assess these contributions, we can foster an environment that is not only cost-effective but also innovative and adaptable to future technological advancements.

Moving forward to defend Open Source in the public sector 

The OSI will continue to follow the process, and work to educate lawmakers about the barriers to procurement of Open Source software solutions. We’re committed to ensuring Open Source projects and communities have everything they need to continue to grow sustainably.

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