Department of Defense to Open Source Corporate Management Information System
Mar 20th, 16:16 UTC
DISA and OSSI collaborate to expand strategic open source opportunities for Government IT systems
Washington, DC (Tuesday, 17 March, 2009) - The DoD's Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and the Open Source Software Institute (OSSI) announced today a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between DISA and OSSI, a US-based non-profit membership organization.
The CRADA involves release of an open source version of DISA's internally-developed Corporate Management Information System (CMIS) for the purpose of a collaborative partnership between Government, non-profit organizations, academia and industry to research and develop state-of-the-art capabilities and functionality for DISA software for use by DoD, the Federal Government, state and local governments and the public. The CMIS program is a web-based Federal administrative software suite consisting of more than 50 applications which handles human resource, training, security, acquisition and related functions for DISA's more than 16,000 users worldwide.
The announcement was made during a presentation at the National Security Agency (NSA) and DISA Technology Transfer Showcase at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland. The event featured executive management from both agencies who provided insights into their latest technologies made available for licensing through Technology Transfer (T2) programs.
"CMIS is a core product within the DISA's IT system," said Jack Penkoske, DISA's Director of Manpower, Security and Personnel. "We have a lot invested in the CMIS application suite and numerous other Government agencies have asked if we'd allow them to adopt CMIS for their internal use. We chose a CRADA and open source model so that we could leverage other agencies', academic, industry and the Open Source community's enhancements and modifications to improve DISA's system. We believe this will be a win-win for all involved."
"We did not want to re-invent the wheel," said Richard Nelson, DISA's Chief of Personnel Systems Support Branch at the Manpower, Personnel and Security Directorate. "We knew we had a solid product with CMIS. It is used every day within our system. After we decided the best way to create enhancements and modifications was through a collaborative partnership involving the non-profit sector, academia and industry, we looked for a partner who had experience with Government, specifically DoD, as well as commercial and open source community connections. That's why we chose OSSI. They've provided technical and open source licensing expertise as well as insights in adoption and distribution strategies. The CRADA vehicle enables us to collaboratively pursue the three foci of research, development and training in support of this project."
"Creating an open source version of CMIS is important in several ways," said John Weathersby, executive director of the Open Source Software Institute. "First, software developed by Government employees falls under "public domain." By distributing the program under an open source license, the Government retains access to the system without having to worry that they'll have to repay for the development of something that was originally created with public funds.
"Secondly, since CMIS is now released under an open source license, commercial, academic and non-profit entities can adopt and support the system, as long as they adhere to the license agreement. There are two license variants available from OSSI, the Open Software License v.3.0 and the Academic Free License v.3.0," he said.
"And finally, this demonstrates that the Government is looking forward at ways of using open source as a valuable tool within their IT enterprise," Weathersby said. "We applaud DISA's foresight and believe it will enhance the viability of the CMIS program. It is a wise use of both technical and economic resources. We look forward to working with DISA and other Government agencies who are joining this effort and will provide a schedule for updates and support services in the coming days."
About the Defense Information Systems Agency
DISA is a combat support agency for the Department of Defense and provides real-time information technology (IT) and communications support to the president, vice president, secretary of defense, the military services, and all combatant commands. From its Arlington, Va., headquarters and through worldwide field activities, DISA offers IT services and capabilities that enable our nation's military to accomplish their missions.
About the Open Source Software Institute
The Open Source Software Institute (http://oss-institute.org) is a US-based, non-profit, membership-based organization whose mission is to promote the adoption and implementation of open source software solutions within US Federal, state and municipal government agencies.
(Submitted by John Weathersby of Open Source Software Institute)
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