New Association Unites Open Source Developers

    It is possible that an association of open source software developers will soon be created in Russia. This was announced by Andrei Korotkov, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Vneshtorgbank, at one of RBC ’s recent “round tables” . According to him, the working group, which will prepare documents for the future association, includes representatives of the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, the Ministry of Education and Science, a number of institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences and commercial organizations involved in Open Source.

    “We do not intend to create a large administrative structure,” Korotkov, who oversees the work of the working group , said in an interview with CNews . He said that now his group operates under the auspices of Russoft.but the existence of a new association will be independent. Its goal will be lobbying the interests of medium and small Russian companies developing open source software.

    The association will be financed from membership dues. It is possible that the association will take part in tenders held as part of federal targeted programs.

    As previously reported by RBC, representatives of the Ministry of Communications see in the use of free software a number of advantages for the state. Firstly, there will be a significant reduction in the costs of legalizing the software used in the public sector. Secondly, the weakening of technological dependence of Russia in the field of software will follow. Another plus is the possibility of domestic enterprises entering the international market as suppliers of finished products and solutions.

    According to Korotkov, the creation of the association is important for the implementation of national projects in healthcare, education, and agriculture. “Take health care, at least,” he explains. - General practitioners must have mobile computers and network access. To do this, it’s enough to develop open source software once, which will be free for all users. ”

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