Tech Watch | InfoWorld Staff » Navy, Marines give OK to open source

June 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Navy, Marines give OK to open source

TAGS: Open Source

Among the prestigious organizations that are recognizing the value that open source software provides, you can now add the U.S. Navy. As first reported over at GCN, a statement issued Monday by the Department of the Navy's CIO, the Navy and Marine Corps. now have a green light to use open source software.

Open source, according to the CIO's office, will be critical to the Navy and Marines "achieving an interoperable net-centric environment is to improve the warfighter’s effectiveness through seamless access to critical information."

The Navy CIO spells out Department policy in a Memorandum of Understanding about Open Source (PDF available here.)

The memo addresses ways to remove barriers to open source. In particular, IT staff in the Navy and Marines are instructed to treat open source products identically to commercial off the shelf products when it meets the definition of a commercial item.

According to Navy rules, "commercial" software includes any item that is "sold, leased or licensed tot he general public," according to the memo.

The Navy CIO also created an Open Source Working Group to provide guidance on increasing the use of open source within the Navy and Marines, the Navy said.

Posted by Paul Roberts on June 11, 2007 10:38 AM

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