Europe, Brazil and China team up on open source software platform Europe, Brazil and China have teamed up to launch a global platform to promote the adoption of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) by businesses, governments and academia. Funded under the European Commission's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), the QualiPSo (Quality Plat... Europe, Brazil and China have teamed up to launch a global platform to promote the adoption of Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) by businesses, governments and academia. Funded under the European Commission's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6), the QualiPSo (Quality Platform for Open Source Software) project is designed to 'make open source a formidable lever to strengthen Europe's competitiveness, accelerate information and communication technology (ICT) growth, and implement the i2010 policy for growth and jobs.' The project hopes to achieve these aims by developing FLOSS into a low-cost and flexible alternative to proprietary software, with the same level of trust traditionally associated with non-free software. Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Information Society and Media, said: 'Software technologies are critical as they provide the added value, intelligence and flexibility underlying competitive success in today's innovative markets. 'An industry today worth €67 billion in the EU, software and service is essential for our future prosperity and even our economic survival because it is the lifeblood of all businesses and all public services,' she added. The project boasts a mix of technology specialists, government departments, and academic institutions amongst its 20 founding members. These include the Fraunhofer Institute for Open Communication Systems (FOCUS), INRIA (The French National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control), State University of Sao Paulo, South China University of Technology/Guangzhou Middleware Research Center, the French Gendarmerie (military police), Bull, Siemens and Thales, among others. Together the members are planning on creating six competency centres to support the deployment and adoption of open source software - four in Europe, one in China and one in Brazil, while also focusing on improving the quality of open source software and deployment practices. The competency centres are expected to open in 2008, with the first results from the ongoing project due at the end of 2007. The activities of the centres will include: - improving legal quality of open source software (OSS); - defining methods, development processes, and business models; - providing test suites and qualified integration stacks to demonstrate OSS interoperability; - implementing best practices in information management to improve the productivity of OSS development and support; - studying qualities that can sustain trust in open source; - developing a new capability maturity model-like approach to assessing the quality of OSS; - designing and implementing the 'QualiPSo Factory', an integrated next generation forge environment; - developing a long-lasting network of professionals caring for the quality of open source software for enterprise computing; - promoting OSS at political level, promoting laws and regulations supporting OSS; - promoting and encouraging practical uptake of QualiPSo methodologies and tools. Earlier this year, a study by the European Commission's Enterprise DG found that FLOSS could provide a unique opportunity to create new software businesses in Europe and reach towards the Lisbon goals of making Europe the most competitive knowledge economy by 2010. Countries Brazil, China
