Open has many meanings. Open source is software with the source code included. The software developers who support the open source concept believe that by allowing anyone who’s interested to modify the source code, the application will be more useful and error-free over the long term. Open access is the free, immediate, online availability of research articles coupled with the rights to use these articles fully in the digital environment. FCW brought this topic to us in their article, “How open innovation can transform the government technology playing field.”
Open innovation in the development of new technologies by players in the government IT market is a whole different animal. We have seen a shift to open government and open data as key principles for agencies, starting with the advent of the Open Government policies of the Obama Administration in 2009. Open innovation in government IT consists of three things: An interoperable infrastructure, cloud-based platforms, and advanced technologies.
The open innovation strategies will only continue to evolve and grow as emerging technologies follow suit and user demand increases.
Melody K. Smith
Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.
