The fourth International Business Linux and Open Source Conference (IBLOC), organised by GV Izobraževanje (GV Training Center) and ISG on 29 and 30 September in Portorož, will also held a round table on the extent of usage of Open Source software in EU and Slovene public administration. Local and foreign experts on Open Source software in public administration will take part in the discussion, which will also deal with the fact that a public administration by using Open Source can contribute to the development of local economy and to the preservation of knowledge in the state. Minister of public administration dr. Gregor Virant has asserted that Slovene public administration is aware of the significance of Open Source and ensured that a project of the whole inclusion of Open Source desktops in state administration and other bodies of public administration will begin next year. Only this way Slovenia will be able to keep pace with other countries in this respect.

Tomi Ilijaš, the manager of Arctur company, which is dealing with the development of software and offers other IT services, has pointed out that the public administration by using Open Source can contribute a lot to the development of the national economy and to the prosperity of the small and medium IT companies in the state. “By developing free software a local environment can gain substantially higher relative added value and preserves more profit as it would by using licensed software,” say David Pahor and Tomi Ilijaž, who will, among other reputable experts, present their views at the IBLOC conference. Their opinion is, that it is on the local and national authorities to spread the usage of Open Source by channeling taxpaying money into development of Open Source solutions and to hire specialised local companies to maintain the equipment and develop solutions.

Development of Open Source software is not free, nor is it its maintenance, although this belief is strongly rooted among the laic public. But on the other hand, public administration by using Open Source can save a lot in comparison with the usage of licensed software, as have practice shown in many European states. In Dutch city Eindhoven, where public administration switched to Open Source this spring, they are planning to save 166.000 Euros until the end of the year and half a million Euros until the year 2008.

Dr. Gregor Virant has pointed out that Slovene public administration has similar experiences, since the use of Open Source on servers is already widely spread. “We haven't performed detailed comparison between the expenses of using and maintaining licensed and Open Source software, but we are able to say that we save more than 50% of licence fee of the correspoding proprietary product.” Even higher savings are expected at the whole inclusion of Open Source into desktops, although the investment into knowledge and transmission to the new system will bring higher costs as were needed for implementing Open Source at the server level. After short stagnation we intend to prepare the whole project of implementing Open Source desktop systems next year, and this way catch up with the higher growth of Open Source desktop usage abroad until 2008,” ensured the minister. He is aware of the fact that the Open Source, which opens extensive knowledge market for every country and especially for Slovenia, is a unique opportunity and the countries which will gain the most are those whose institutions will support the use of Opens Source on all levels. “EU countries must invest in development of Open Source software and this way get rid of being dependent on mega corporations,” is convinced Dr. Virant.

Experts are emphasising that the role of public administration at spreading the use of Open Source and at stimulating the responsible specialised local economy doesn't end with the plain assurance of the public and regional authorities to use Open Source software instead of licensed one. Namely, in many places public administration itself, with its employees, develops and maintains Open Source solutions and there are even more examples when public authorities cooperate with a limited circle of companies and that is not good for the development of a network of IT companies in the state. Instead, It is a privilege for only a few of them. Dr. Virant confessed between the lines that Slovenia is functioning in a similar level. “There is a small number of experts, who can control a great extent of services and processes,” he said. Partial anomaly, practiced by public authorities all around Europe and elsewhere, is not enabling the access to the original code of their solutions. By doing that they do not violate Open Source licence of a certain software, but they do act in contrary to the basic principle of free software - that Open Source solutions can be tested, modified and improved by anybody. Gorazd Golob, chairman of the IBLOC program committee, explains that this principle enables other users to make use of the changes, corrections and improvements and it also accelerates development of new solutions in the community and consecutively it accelerates the whole economy.

The use of Open Source desktop is a central topic of the IBLOC conference. Relation of the public administration to this question is only one of the interesting topics that the experts from around the world will discuss. The estimated number of participants at the conference is more then 300, since it can be classified as the most important professional event in the Southeast Europe. The conference will bring technical developers and IT managers the opportunity to hear about the recent happening in the world of Open Source and to contribute to the birth of new ideas. The event is also significant for Slovene companies which offer IT solutions, since they will have the opportunity to present their ideas and establish business contacts.