Opponents of open-source software are moving to limit software procurement options available to Federal, state, and foreign governments via a concerted effort to defame open source development and licensing methods. Their allegations include the assertion that, because security experts can easily audit it, open source software is somehow less secure. Likewise, open source opponents have begun to suggest that open-source applications are uniquely subject to legal challenges over intellectual property within them.

The open source community must respond forcefully to these threats. To that end, OSAIA advocates for a level playing field for open source software. While OSAIA does not advocate mandates requiring open source software, we believe open software is sufficiently revolutionary to require at least a hearing before procurement bodies.

OSAIA supports procurement principles that embody the following 3 elements:

Consideration of Open Source
All requests for proposals must explicitly consider reasonably available solutions, including open source software.

Specific Criteria for Evaluation
OSAIA supports using standard criteria to evaluate the adoption of any software solution within government enterprises. These criteria include:
Total Cost of Ownership: Minimizing initial costs, support and training expenses, and potential for adverse licensing changes and lock-in.
Functionality: Ensuring the best solution for needs and requirements of the enterprise.
Security: A comprehensive evaluation of security vulnerabilities among the competing products including the time to respond and patch any vulnerabilities when discovered.
Interoperability: More interoperable systems ensure longer life for the system and remove technological burdens of lock-in.
Reliability: Concern towards the reliability of systems, many responsible for governmental critical infrastructure

Post Procurement Accountability Report
After any major software procurement decision, the responsible officer should be required to prepare a report justifying the basis for their decision. This report can serve as an excellent tool for use in future procurement.