Sun Microsystems, the world's fourth largest maker of server computers, wants the European Commission to appoint an ombudsman to deal with software tenders that do not comply to EU guidelines.
Leaving it up to IT companies to protest, places too big a burden on the companies, Simon Phipps, the company's chief Open Source Officer, said in an telephone interview this Tuesday. "The abuse is too widespread."
Phipps commented on the draft report 'Guidelines on public procurement and Open Source Software', released last week Monday by the European Commission's Open Source Observatory and Repository project (OSOR). The report shows widespread abuse of the EU's tender rules, Phipps says.
If it were just one or two cases where public administrations erroneously mention specific applications or an IT company, filing a protest might be an option. However, says Phipps, improper application of tender rules is endemic throughout Europe and happens even within the Commission. The cost to deal with this would be prohibitive. "It would also create bad blood with public administrations. The competition is already at a disadvantage and the last thing they want to do, is to make matters worse by taking their clients to court."
Instead, he argues, the European Commission should take action. He suggests that it appoint an ombudsman to deal with IT tenders. "The system is clearly broken. It is like asking for a black Ford car and pointing to the three dealers across the street, knowing full well that it is the manufacturer who decides which dealer gets the best deal."
Sufficient
The draft guidelines were published during the Open Source World Conference in Malaga. During the presentation, Karel De Vriendt, head of the EC's IDABC unit responsible for OSOR, had called on companies to react if needed. "Should a company or other organisation consider that a public administration does not comply with national or EU procurement regulations, for example by favouring proprietary software, they have the right to protest against such tenders and, if necessary, take the tendering organisations to court".
De Vriendt today confirmed his opinion. "There are sufficient ways for companies and other organisations to protect their rights. Ombudspersons are functioning already at many levels throughout the EU already, hence if companies or organisations want to go this route, they can do so. Anyhow, concluding that a tender favours proprietary software solely based on the fact that a company name is being mentioned is not serious, as very often an existing situation need to be described in order for tenderers to understand the context in which their solutions, if chosen, will need to function. It would be advisable to describe such context in terms of Open Standards and technical specifications instead of via company or product names but this is not always possible."
This Tuesday, the OSOR opened a forum to discuss the draft report.
More information:
Osor Guidelines Public Procurement and Open Source Software (pdf)