Oracle Won’t Block Open Source In The Public Sector

Ed Boyajian | Tech Week Europe | January 24, 2014

Last year, Oracle flamed out in its attempt to stall the adoption of open source technology by the US Department of Defense (DoD) when a  White Paper surfaced, in which Oracle warns the DoD about the dangers of hidden costs and inefficiency of open source software, and tries to explain the proper handling of such technology.

The bottom line message to the DoD was essentially: “It’s too dangerous, so let us handle the open source; we’ll give it to you through our products”.’ But what the White Paper doesn’t mention is that by choosing Oracle, the DoD robs itself of the freedom and flexibility associated with open source technology.

Seriously, did Oracle expect to be believed?

It’s doubtful that Oracle truly expected the DoD would take its advice and immediately stop using open source technology. With some of the strongest tech minds in US government, the DoD is already clued in to the benefits of open source technology.