Open letter calls for more open source investment from the government
AG KRITIS, Wikimedia Deutschland and others are calling on the government to invest more in open source solutions instead of proprietary software.
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Wikimedia Deutschland, together with other non-profit organizations, has written an open letter addressed to the SPD, BĂĽndnis 90/Die GrĂĽnen and FDP parliamentary groups in the Bundestag. It criticizes the fact that although the German government pays full-bodied lip service to open source and digital sovereignty, the actual expenditure goes in a completely different direction. The signatories therefore call on the government to "set the right digital policy course in the 2025 budget".
A central point of the argument is based on the fact that the federal government announced at the end of 2023 that the open source share of federal spending on software development and services had only amounted to around 0.5% since the start of the legislative period. Investments in projects such as the Sovereign Tech Fund or the Center for Digital Sovereignty had to be fought for, while billions were being spent on proprietary software solutions. "This is disproportionate," criticizes the letter.
"In addition, the further expansion of the Zentrum für digitale Souveränität der öffentlichen Verwaltung GmbH (ZenDiS) and the successful implementation of the projects based there, in particular openDesk and OpenCoDE as real alternatives to proprietary solutions, must also be secured financially with significantly higher budgets," the letter states.
Instead, billions in public funds continue to be spent on proprietary software solutions, which cements existing vendor dependencies. As a result, the state is relinquishing its ability to control and shape things, as well as its innovative strength.
Despite Intel's project stop in Magdeburg, Germany should use the planned investments to strengthen digital sovereignty in administration and business – especially in the software and cloud sector. This could be achieved with a fraction of Intel's billions and reduce dependencies, the open letter states.
20 percent open source share required by 2025
In the 2025 federal budget, spending on proprietary software should therefore be reduced as part of procurement procedures and the funds freed up as a result should be used for open source solutions and services, the signatories demand. As a sensible first interim goal, they propose changing the IT spending ratio by 20 percent. This would not result in additional costs, but the available funds would be used more sustainably and economically.
In addition, a concrete target date is needed from which the public sector will only develop and procure open-source, freely usable, adaptable and verifiable software. In line with the coal phase-out, such a date would give administration and industry planning security.
In addition to Wikimedia Deutschland, signatories to the letter include AG KRITIS, D64 – Center for Digital Progress, the Gesellschaft für Informatik, the German Unix User Group, the Innovationsverbund Öffentliche Gesundheit, Load and the Open Source Business Alliance.
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