Open source in public administration: dependent instead of left behind?

The digitalization of public administration is progressing – at least according to Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) at the opening of the Smart Country Convention of the industry association Bitkom at the Berlin Exhibition Centre. The question is not whether digitization will take place, but how: The goal is simplification, Faeser emphasized. 90 percent of access to federal administrative services are already digitized, and the BundID is now used by more than 4 million citizens.

Work on the European Digital Identity Wallet and the authorities' transition to IPv6 by 2030 is also progressing, said the Minister of the Interior. However, security is a priority in these times, as is the fight against crime, including in the digital world. What Faeser did not say was that although her ministry is the patron of the event, it no longer had its own stand. This reflects the priorities set in the upcoming 2025 federal budget, in which the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) has cut back on digitalization.

Saving with open source?

Perhaps some money could be saved by not renewing expensive license agreements for software for which more cost-effective open-source alternatives exist? This discussion flares up again and again, especially in times of austerity. And with the launch of OpenDesk, there is at least a theoretically usable alternative to parts of well-known offerings. But that is not enough.

Uwe Presler from IT service provider Bechtle demanded that the volume of licenses in the public sector should make people think. The demands placed on software in the public sector are high and the number of parallel objectives should not be underestimated: Reusability, control, security, data protection and even the question of how to compensate for the wave of retirements already underway in the administration. Open-source solutions are often the obvious choice.

Tim Neugebauer from Leipzig-based IT service provider DMK E-Business reported that old mistakes are currently being repeated, particularly in new areas such as low-code applications for the administration: with proprietary solutions and platforms, government agencies are once again tying themselves to lock-in providers. The "one for all" applications on the marketplace for online access law solutions are also different.

To improve this, the Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS) aims to bring projects together and make reliable solutions known via the OpenCoDE platform. Head of department Leonhard Kugler reported that the translation of open-source definitions into official German has been successful and is decisive for the procurement of public authorities. ZenDiS has also taken over the rights clearing for over 500 different licenses – so that the administration knows what it is getting into.

Dependent on open source service providers?

The panellists were not entirely in agreement whether open-source software brings security benefits. Uwe Presler pointed out that his company mainly works with large, established open-source solution providers to meet the requirements of public administration. The trend is towards managed services and security operations centers as an integrated service. Isn't this just trading one dependency for another? At least there is the possibility of code review and changing providers, Presler argued.

In any case, ZenDiS could not take on the task of becoming a large software manufacturer and quality assurance provider, Kugler clarified. Development must continue to lie with developer communities and companies. The administration was unable to do this, said Bechtle representative Presler, especially not with future staffing levels.

Whether open-source or closed source applications are used is still a political decision. According to Presler, he would like to see clear decisions. Neugebauer emphasized that a lot has so far depended on the purchasing conditions, such as the "Supplementary Contract Terms for the Procurement of IT Services" – and the question of operational implementation. Political declarations of intent are written much faster than software. In the end, according to Kugler, it is primarily the range of functions that has been decisive for the purchase so far, not whether the product fits into the overall architecture of the public administration in a meaningful way. These are all questions that are currently the subject of intense international debate – and, for once, Germany is ahead of the debate in other countries.

(vbr)