Open Source's Fortunes In Poland Could Be About To Change, Thanks To Education

Summary: Open source has had a mixed reception in Poland's public sector, with some government agencies actively blocking efforts to increase uptake of the software. But the situation could be set for a reversal, after changes in the education sector.

Open source in Poland has so far had had something of a mixed reception. While some government institutions go out of their way to include open source in their IT environments, others go out of their way to keep it out. However, there are signs that open source software could find more fertile soil in this part of Europe in the future.

When the German city of Munich announced in November it had saved €10m after switching to open source office software, Polish commentators began demanding to know why the country's government agencies didn't do the same. At best, the Polish tech community suggests, the country's government is lagging in its approach to open source. At worst, lobbyists and companies have succeeded in trying to keep the public sector as vendor locked-in as possible.